May 4, 2023 – The first of several anticipated vaccine options to stop respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in older adults has been approved by the FDA.
The vaccine, called Arexvy, is manufactured by the British pharmaceutical company GSK and is now available. this autumnThe company called it “the first RSV vaccine for older adults to be approved worldwide” after the FDA permit Wednesday.
Arexvy is approved for people aged 60 and over and studies have shown that it reduces the chance of life-threatening complications from RSV, comparable to pneumonia and bronchitis, by as much as 94%.
The FDA would require GSK to further investigate the possible link between Arexvy and two serious health complications that occurred in three individuals who participated within the vaccine study. One person developed the rare immune disorder Guillain-Barré syndrome 9 days after receiving Arexvy, and two people suffered from a rare inflammation that affects the brain and spinal cord.
Between 60,000 and 120,000 persons are hospitalized for RSV every year, and the virus plays a job in as many as 10,000 deaths per yr amongst people ages 65 and older, the FDA noted, citing CDC data. RSV was certainly one of three respiratory illnesses that figured prominently in last winter's “triple epidemic.”
“Older adults, especially those with underlying medical conditions such as heart or lung disease or weakened immune systems, are at high risk for severe illness from RSV,” Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Division of Vaccines, said in a press release.
Pharmaceutical firms comparable to Pfizer and Moderna are also near FDA approval of their very own versions of RSV vaccines.
Demand for the vaccines is anticipated to be strong, with pharmaceutical firms more likely to earn $10 billion from RSV vaccines by 2030, and GSK alone more likely to make peak sales of $2.5 billion for Arexvy, Reuters reported.