Prevenar now available in Sri Lanka

Wyeth and Edna Phamaceuticals, the Sri Lankan distributor for Wyeth, announced that Prevenar (Pneumococcal saccharide conjugated vaccine, Adsorbed) is now available in Sri Lanka. Prevenar (also referred to as PCV7), the global standard in pneumococcal disease prevention in infants and young children, helps protect against the seven pneumococcal serotypes contained in the vaccine with cause the majority of pneumococcal disease worldwide.

Prof. Sanath P. Lamabadusuriya, Emeritus Professor of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo said "Respiratory tract disease is a leading cause for hospitalisation of children in, Sri Lanka and pneumococcal infections is a cause of concern.

We are proud about our achievements; through the expanded program of Immunisation many diseases such as poliomyelitis, neonatal tetanus, diphtheria and measles have virtually been eliminated and prevention of pneumococcal disease through vaccination will definitely be of benefit for our children." "Pneumococcal disease is a leading cause of illness and death among children around the world.

The introduction of Prevenar today is an important development for the children in our country," says Dr. H. T. Wickramasinghe, President, Sri Lanka College of Paediatricians.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), pneumococcal disease causes up to one million deaths in children each year and is the leading vaccine-preventable cause of death in children younger than five years of age worldwide.

Given the significant burden of pneumococcal disease and the demonstrated vaccine efficacy, in March 2007, WHO recommended priority inclusion of the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in national childhood immunisation programs worldwide. Recently, 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.

"The launch of Prevenar today marks an important milestone in the 10 year relationship between Wyeth and the Edna Group and builds on our mission to help the healthcare system in Sri Lanka protect our children and our future," said Lal Edirisinghe, Chairman of the Edna Group.

Prevenar (Pneumococcal saccharide conjugated vaccine, Adsorbed) is now available in 96 countries around the world, with more than 200 million doses distributed. It also is part of the childhood national immunisation program in 34 countries.

Prevenar has had a substantial impact on public health in areas where it is routinely used. For example, following the inclusion of prevenar into the routine U.S. paediatric immunisation schedule, there has been a 98 per cent (95% Cl: 97-99) reduction in vaccine-type pneumococcal disease among infants and toddlers younger than 5 years compared with a prelicensure baseline. In addition, incidence of disease caused by the seven conjugate vaccine serotypes declined 55 per cent (95% Cl 51-58) among adults 50 years of age and older, an unvaccinated group.