The European Commission has approved the first vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which is responsible for the death of many yearly, to be used by adults aged 60 and over, said GlaxoSmithKline on Wednesday.
The vaccine, Arexvy was approved last month by the United States, to protect vulnerable people from the height of the complexity of the molecular structure of this virus, a decades-long hunt, which was first discovered in 1956.
“This authorisation for Arexvy means eligible adults can be vaccinated against RSV disease for the first time,” said GSK’s chief scientific officer Tony Wood in a statement.
RSV often causes cold-like symptoms but is a major cause of pneumonia in infants and the elderly., as well as those with weak immune systems. It also causes bronchiolitis, an inflammation of the small airways deep inside the lungs.
GSK stated that RSV was “a common, contagious respiratory virus that leads to approximately 20,000 in-hospital deaths each year in adults aged 60 years and over in Europe”.
“The availability of the vaccine in Europe will depend on national recommendations and reimbursement discussions, but the first launches are expected this autumn ahead of the 2023/2024 RSV season”, GSK said on Wednesday.
GSK, one of the world’s biggest vaccine makers, is relying in part on Arexvy to drive long-term growth.
