Industry Watch  [to 8 March 2014]
Selected media releases and other selected content from industry.

Inactivated Polio Vaccines Broadly Available for the World’s Children in the Drive toward Polio Eradication
Excerpt
Lyon, France, – February 28, 2014 – Sanofi Pasteur announced “its further commitment to the international community’s efforts to complete polio eradication. UNICEF, the organization that procures the vaccine to meet global needs, announced it will purchase significant quantities of Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) from Sanofi Pasteur and make it available based on country needs and vaccination plans. To achieve the goal of polio eradication by 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that by end 2015, all children receive routinely at least one dose of IPV in over 120 countries that solely use Oral Polio Vaccine.”

In order to support rapid and widespread adoption of IPV, Sanofi Pasteur – the world’s largest producer of IPV – and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation ”have developed a joint price support mechanism, including a financial contribution from both organizations. This mechanism allows Sanofi Pasteur to offer IPV at a price of €0.75 per dose (approximately US$ 1) to 73 of the world’s poorest countries. The GAVI Alliance, a global immunisation partnership, will make IPV available for inclusion in routine immunisation schedules in these countries.”

This announcement “underscores Sanofi Pasteur’s commitment to offer unparalleled volumes of high-quality IPV across a broad range of countries and economic situations at differential prices in an unprecedented, global rollout.”

Sanofi Pasteur “has made significant investments in modern technology to produce very large quantities of IPV — up to 300 million doses a year. As well as this substantial investment in production capacity, Sanofi Pasteur support to IPV now includes development of a five-dose vial presentation (as well as the standard ten-dose vial presentation) to reduce wastage, a massive regulatory and licensing program in about 100 countries and expert contributions on scientific, program and technical questions.” Sanofi Pasteur has been a partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative for over 20 years…

Full text of media release: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/28/idUSnHUGdxHX+73+ONE20140228