COLLEGEVILLE, Pa--26 Mar--PRNewswire-AsiaNet/InfoQuest
PREVENAR can help fight number one vaccine-preventable cause of death in young children worldwide
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth (NYSE: WYE), salutes the World Health Organization's (WHO) decision to support the inclusion of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) in national immunization programs worldwide. In view of the demonstrated vaccine efficacy and high disease burden, WHO notes that PCV can help substantially reduce mortality and morbidity. Pneumococcal disease is a significant concern to children's health, estimated by WHO to result in up to 1 million deaths each year in young children around the world.
"Reducing the burden of pneumococcal disease is a vital step toward achieving the United Nations' Millennium Development Goal of reducing child mortality by two-thirds by 2015," says Bernard Poussot, President, Chief Operating Officer and Vice Chairman, Wyeth. "Broad adoption of the WHO position has the potential to save millions of children's lives around the world. Wyeth
Wyeth recently applied to WHO for pre-qualification status for PREVENAR. If accepted, this status will enable international agencies to include the vaccine in mass immunization programs in the world's least developed countries. The pre-qualification process is expected to be completed by early 2008.
"To date, Wyeth has invested more than $1 billion in state-of-the-art facilities for the manufacturing of PREVENAR and the development and production of future vaccines," says Jim Connolly, General Manager and Executive Vice President, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Vaccines Business Unit. "These investments have resulted in a robust supply outlook for PREVENAR, which is an essential part in helping to protect both current and future generations against this potentially devastating disease."
Many health authorities already have recognized the importance of protecting infants and young children against pneumococcal disease. PREVENAR now is available in 74 countries and is part of the routine national childhood immunization schedule in 16 of these countries worldwide.
In addition, Wyeth is developing a 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine that targets additional serotypes. This investigational vaccine currently is undergoing clinical development and potentially would offer broader coverage against pneumococcal disease for both infants and adults.
About Pneumococcal Disease
Pneumococcal disease is caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae and describes a group of illnesses, including bacteremia/sepsis, meningitis, pneumonia and otitis media. Pneumococcal disease affects both children and adults and, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is a leading cause of death and illness worldwide. WHO estimates that pneumococcal disease results in up to 1 million deaths each year in young children worldwide. Further, according to WHO, pneumococcal disease is the number one vaccine-preventable cause of death in children less than five years of age worldwide.
Important Safety Information about PREVENAR
In clinical trials (n=18,168), the most frequently reported adverse events included injection site reactions, fever (greater than or equal to 38 degrees C/100.4 degrees F), irritability, drowsiness, restless sleep, decreased appetite, vomiting, diarrhea and rash.
Risks are associated with all vaccines, including PREVENAR. Hypersensitivity to any vaccine component, including diphtheria toxoid, is a contraindication to its use. PREVENAR does not provide 100 percent protection against vaccine serotypes or protect against non-vaccine serotypes.
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth, has leading products in the areas of women's health care, infectious disease, gastrointestinal health, central nervous system, inflammation, transplantation, hemophilia, oncology, vaccines and nutritional products.
Wyeth is one of the world's largest research-driven pharmaceutical and health care products companies. It is a leader in the discovery, development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceuticals, vaccines, biotechnology products and non-prescription medicines that improve the quality of life for people worldwide. The Company's major divisions include Wyeth Pharmaceuticals,
The statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements based on current expectations of future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. These risks and uncertainties include the inherent uncertainty of the timing and success of, and expense associated with, research, development, regulatory approval and commercialization of our products, including with respect to our pipeline products; government cost-containment initiatives; restrictions on third-party payments for our products; substantial competition in our industry, including from branded and generic products; data generated on our products; the importance of strong performance from our principal products and our anticipated new product introductions; the highly regulated nature of our business; product liability, intellectual property and other litigation risks and environmental liabilities; uncertainty regarding our intellectual property rights and those of others; difficulties associated with, and regulatory compliance with respect to, manufacturing of our products; risks associated with our strategic relationships; economic conditions including interest and
SOURCE: Wyeth
CONTACT: Media:
Natalie de Vane of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals,
+1-484-865-5139, or
Douglas Petkus of Wyeth,
+1-973-660-5218; or
Investors:
Justin Victoria of Wyeth,
+1-973-660-5340
--Distributed by AsiaNet ( www.asianetnews.net )--
-Chile Grants First Approval of Prevenar 13 for the Prevention of Pneumococcal Disease in Infants and Children- Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth (NYSE: WYE), announced today that the Chilean Ministry of Health, MINSAL (Ministerio de Salud), has become the first government agency to approve Prevenar 13* Valent, (Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine 13 Valent (Diphtheria CRM(197) Protein)) for infants and young children. Prevenar 13 Valent is approved for active immunization of children aged 6