Hi Bob, thanks. I'm not sure what the final price will be for the vax, but they will need hundreds of thousands of doses, conservatively, and it will be needed for a very long time. I still think it's the biggest vaccine development in well over a decade.
GSK has a huge future, especially with 3 different avian flu strains now infecting poultry in the U.S.
And then of course we have the measles outbreak that's spreading, and GSK already has the vax? Definitely in a era of emerging diseases and companies like GSK will be "needed" big time for future events.
Speaking of the measles vax:
GSK, Sanofi vaccines proving effective in measles outbreak
The vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) has proven an effective tool in the past. In 2008, a U.K. study found one dose protects 95% of people against measles, with the follow-up shot immunizing most of the remaining 5%. Now similar data is emerging from Wales. After analyzing data from the ongoing measles outbreak, Welsh health authorities have found the vaccine is effective for 99% of people after two shots. As in the earlier study, one dose conferred immunity on 95% of people. The U.K. National Health Service currently sources MMR vaccines from GlaxoSmithKline ( $GSK) and Sanofi ( $SNY), but it has used Merck ( $MRK) in the past.
News that the vaccine is working as well as hoped was a bright point in a week in which the total number of cases moved past 1,000. A vaccination push has seen 4,000 people protected in the past month, but a further 5,000 in Swansea--the center of the outbreak--still need the jab. Across Wales, the number of children who still need vaccinating is reported to top 50,000. "While not enough children are vaccinated, this outbreak can easily spread anywhere in Wales. It is just a matter of time before a child is left with serious and permanent complications such as eye disorders, deafness or brain damage, or dies," Welsh health director Dr. Marion Lyons said. An inquest into a possibly measles-related death is already under way.
fiercevaccines.com
COMMENT: Even with these emerging diseases, the Ebola vaccine is clearly a home run in my opinion. |
