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Printer Friendly Print Experts urge industry and international donors to prepare pneumococcal vaccines

Experts urge industry and international donors to prepare pneumococcal vaccines

May 19, 2006

Millions of deaths could be prevented by routine immunisation against a major cause of pneumonia and meningitis in the developing world

London, UK- In today's online edition of The Lancet, a group of leading global health experts have come together to call for vaccine manufacturers and international donors to negotiate affordable pricing of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines and for governments of developing world countries and their partners to establish disease surveillance networks and begin preparations for pneumococcal vaccine introduction.




The experts believe that urgent action to introduce routine childhood pneumococcal vaccination is needed because of the enormous burden of the disease - the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about 1.6 million people, including up to one million children under five years old, die every year of pneumococcal pneumonia, meningitis, and sepsis.1 In populations with high child mortality rates, pneumonia is the leading infectious cause of mortality and accounts for about 20-25% of all child deaths.2

This call to action comes on the eve of a meeting of G8 ministers to discuss funding vaccines. This seems to be the latest step in major changes over the last five years in financing of immunization, including the creation of the GAVI Alliance (Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization) Fund. Dr Orin Levine, the lead author of the article and Executive Director of PneumoADIP - a non-governmental organization that aims to shorten the time between use of a vaccine in industrialized nations and their introduction in the developing world - commented: "We hope that with such mechanisms in place, all developing countries will begin to consider that millions of children can now be saved by the simple addition of this vaccine to existing immunization programs."

Dr Thomas Cherian, Co-ordinator, Ad Interim, EPI, WHO, and co-author of the article added: "Pneumococcal disease is a major global health issue; what is promising is that a seven-valent vaccine that is effective against seven common strains of the disease is already licensed and in use in over 60 countries and that formulations containing additional serotypes of the organism that are also relevant for developing countries are under development. The WHO considers pneumococcal vaccines to be a priority and recognizes the urgency to make these vaccines available for children in developing countries."

There are other pneumococcal vaccines in development, which contain additional serotypes targeting strains of the disease that commonly cause death and disability in the developing world; however, these will not be available for several years. Introducing the seven-valent vaccine now means that lives can start to be saved immediately. This vaccine, manufactured by Wyeth, is effective, well-tolerated and can be delivered through existing immunization systems. Surveillance data from the U.S.indicate that the herd immunity* effect from routine childhood pneumococcal vaccination prevents twice as many cases as the direct effects of vaccination alone - protecting vulnerable adults as well as children.

Responding to The Lancet paper, Julian Lob-Levyt, Executive Secretary, GAVI Alliance, said, "There is convincing evidence of the benefits of vaccines for major child killers, especially when such a simple health intervention could help in meeting UN Millennium Development Goal no. 4: to reduce child mortality by two thirds by 2015. GAVI will be looking closely at how best to assist countries where pneumococcal disease represents a significant burden on public health."

Jean Stéphenne, President of GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, the vaccines division of GlaxoSmithKline PLC, also welcomed the call to action in The Lancet and said, "GSK Bio has invested many years in the development of a vaccine that protects against the 10 most important strains of pneumococcus serotypes worldwide, and our candidate is now being studied in a global clinical program. We have a long history of supplying vaccines in developing countries and are committed to working to make our pneumococcal vaccine available worldwide at sustainable prices. We hope that our partners in governments, donor agencies, charities, and international organizations will step up with a firm purchase commitment that will allow us to save as many lives as possible."

James Connolly, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals vaccine's business unit, concurred with the call to action and stated, "Prevnar has been launched in 60 countries, and has had a significant impact on the health of children where it is in use. In the U.S., three years after the routine use of Prevnar, there has been a 94 percent reduction in invasive pneumococcal disease caused by the disease serotypes included in the vaccine. We are actively working with international agencies to help provide access to Prevnar for children in the developing world.

Meanwhile, Wyeth researchers are continuing to work on new versions of Prevnar, including a version that will address 13 of the most prevalent serotypes of invasive pneumococcal disease, which will expand its usefulness globally for both children and adults."

Strategic Communications



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Review: Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines effective at preventing child deaths
A study published in The Cochrane Review this month concludes that pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV), already known to prevent invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) and x-ray defined pneumonia, was also effective against child deaths.

New WHO data underscores global threat of the world's leading child killer
New World Health Organization data to be published in this week's edition of the Lancet will shed new light on two leading causes of pneumonia, the world's leading killer of children under age 5, both globally and within specific countries.

New vaccine shows promise for COPD patients at risk for pneumonia
A new vaccine against pneumonia may offer better protection from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients than the currently accepted vaccine, according to recent research that will be published in the September 15 issue of the American Journal of the Respiratory and Critical Care Journal, a publication of the American Thoracic Society.

Pneumococcal vaccine does not appear to protect against pneumonia
Commonly used pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccines do not appear to be effective for preventing pneumonia.

Mayo Clinic study finds increased risk of pneumococcal disease in asthma patients
Mayo Clinic research shows adults with asthma are at increased risk of serious pneumococcal disease caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, the most common bacteria causing middle ear infections and community acquired pneumonia.

Governments urged to fight global child killer
Pneumococcal disease, one of the world's leading causes of death and serious illness, must be recognised as an urgent global health issue together with HIV, malaria and TB, say the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Pneumococcal Disease Prevention in the Developing World in a report launching at the House of Lords today.

Despite vaccine, public should not get complacent about pneumococcal disease
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Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines can improve the lives of HIV-infected children
An international team of experts has published the first comprehensive review of evidence on pneumococcal conjugate vaccination (PCV) for children with HIV infection.

Number of cases of most vaccine-preventable diseases in US at all-time low
A comparison of illness and death rates for 13 vaccine-preventable diseases in the U.S., before and after use of the vaccine, indicates there have been significant decreases in the number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths for each of the diseases examined.

Patients with pneumonia who received pneumococcal vaccine have lower rate of death, ICU admission
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