New Data Support Routine Childhood Vaccination With PREVENAR In Europe - Shown To Reduce Invasive Pneumococcal Disease In Young Children

Data presented at the 26th annual meeting of the European Society for
Paediatric Infectious Diseases (ESPID) in Graz, Austria, provide additional
evidence of the public health impact of the routine use of Prevenar*
(Pneumococcal Saccharide Conjugated Vaccine, Adsorbed), which helps protect
against the seven pneumococcal serotypes causing the majority of disease
worldwide.(1)


Specifically, since the introduction of Prevenar, also referred to as
PCV7, into Germany's pediatric immunization schedule in 2006, there has been
a 50 percent reduction in vaccine-type invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in
children younger than 2 years old compared with a pre-vaccine baseline.(2) In
addition, a slight reduction in vaccine-type IPD among children aged 2-5
years old, an unvaccinated group, also was documented, suggesting a potential
"indirect" effect among older children who were not immunized.(2)


"These data are compelling and demonstrate the rapid reduction of IPD in
German children following the inclusion of Prevenar in Germany's national
childhood immunization schedule," says Dr. Mark van der Linden, Head of the
National Reference Center for Streptococci at the Institute of Medical
Microbiology, RWTH-Aachen, Germany. "Importantly, the results are consistent
with the disease reduction documented in France and the United Kingdom, where
young children are routinely immunized with Prevenar, highlighting the impact
of the vaccine in countries where it is used across Europe." (3),(4)


"Since pneumococcal disease is the number one vaccine-preventable cause
of death in children younger than five years of age, we are incredibly proud
of the growing body of evidence supporting universal childhood vaccination
with Prevenar and are committed in our mission to help save children's
lives," says Bernard Fritzell, Vice President, International Scientific &
Clinical Affairs, Wyeth.(5)


In view of the demonstrated vaccine efficacy and high disease burden in
young children, WHO recommends the priority inclusion of PCV7 in national
immunization programs worldwide.(6) Further, in January 2008, the Strategic
Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) to WHO issued a preliminary recommendation
that pneumococcal disease prevention be ranked as a very high priority on a
global basis.(7) Prevenar, the only licensed pneumococcal conjugate vaccine,
is available in 88 countries worldwide and is part of the routine national
childhood immunization schedule in more than 20 of these countries, 12 of
which are in Europe.(8)


Pneumococcal Disease


Pneumococcal disease affects both children and adults and is a leading
cause of illness and death worldwide.(9) Pneumococcal disease is caused by
the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae and describes a group of illnesses,
including invasive infections, such as bacteremia/sepsis and meningitis, as
well as pneumonia and upper respiratory tract infections, including otitis
media and sinusitis.


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, nutritionals and non-prescription medicines that improve the
quality of life for people worldwide. The Company's major divisions include
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Wyeth Consumer Healthcare and Fort Dodge Animal
Health.


References


(1). Hausdorff WP, Bryant J, Paradiso PR. Which pneumococcal serogroups
cause the most invasive disease: implications for conjugate vaccine
formulation and use, part I. CID 2000; 30:100-21.


(2). van der Linden M, Reinert R. Effects of the national immunization
program for PCV7 on IPD in children in Germany. Poster presented at the 26th
annual meeting of the European Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases
(ESPID).


(3). Lepoutre A, Varon E, Georges S, et al. Impact des recommandations de
vaccination antipneumococcique par le vaccin conjugГ© heptavalent sur
l'incidence des infections invasives Г  pneumocoque chez les enfants de moins
de deux ans. Institut de Veille Sanitaire. 2006.


(4). Health Protection Agency (HPA): Centre for Infections. Cumulative
weekly number of reports of invasive pneumococcal disease due to any of the
seven serotypes present in PCV-7: children Buy Cipro Without Prescription