Industry Watch [to 23 July 2016]

:: Pfizer Receives World Health Organization Prequalification for Multi-Dose Vial Presentation of Prevenar 13®
Designation Will Enable Increased Access to Vaccine in World’s Poorest Countries
July 19, 2016 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) announced today that the World Health Organization (WHO) has prequalified its four-dose, multi-dose vial (MDV) presentation of Prevenar 13®* (pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine [13 – valent, adsorbed]). WHO prequalification allows for the global use of Prevenar 13® MDV by United Nations agencies and countries worldwide that require WHO prequalification.

“Pfizer is committed to continued innovation aimed at meeting the challenges of the developing world and helping to prevent invasive pneumococcal disease by providing a path for children in resource-limited countries to access a reliable supply of Prevenar 13®.”

“It is unconscionable that children in developing countries are still falling ill, or dying, by the hundreds of thousands every year from preventable diseases like invasive pneumococcal disease and meningitis,” said Orin Levine, director of the vaccine delivery team at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “We need a range of tools to save children’s lives and welcome advances like this one that help improve our ability to prevent life-threatening invasive pneumococcal disease.”

“We are pleased that the WHO has prequalified the MDV presentation of Prevenar 13®, another crucial step in providing broader global access to this important vaccine for those who need it,” said Susan Silbermann, President and General Manager, Pfizer Vaccines. “Pfizer is committed to continued innovation aimed at meeting the challenges of the developing world and helping to prevent invasive pneumococcal disease by providing a path for children in resource-limited countries to access a reliable supply of Prevenar 13®.”

The MDV presentation of Prevenar 13® offers significant benefits to developing countries, including a 75 percent reduction in:
:: Temperature-controlled supply chain requirements,
:: United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) shipping costs, and
:: Storage requirements at the national, regional, district, and community levels…

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:: GSK ships 2016-17 seasonal influenza vaccines for US market
PHILADELPHIA, July 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — GSK [LSE/NYSE: GSK] announced today it has begun shipping quadrivalent vaccine doses to US healthcare providers, following licensing and lot-release approval from the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. It is the first company to ship quadrivalent vaccine for the 2016-17 flu season…

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:: DCVMN Gavi board representatives on the side of the Board Chair, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, at her first Board meeting
14 July 2016
Geneva, 22nd June 2016 – DCVMN Gavi Board member, Mr. Adar Poonawalla, and his alternate Mr. Juliman Fuad, welcomed the new Chair at her first Board meeting and supported the board decisions on WHO’s malaria vaccine pilots, as well as the forward looking approach towards delivering on the Vaccine Alliance’s 2016 to 2020 supply strategy, to help foster healthy markets for vaccines and other immunisation-related products to benefit Gavi-supported countries and those who transition from Gavi support. The new strategy takes a long-term approach, drawing on the expertise of a more diverse group of partners and engaging with an expanded group of vaccine manufacturers. In this context, Gavi will create a platform to share and meet country needs, innovation priorities, and inform manufacturers’ investment decisions.

The Board also approved a new framework for the Health System and Immunisation Strengthening framework to ensure that Gavi’s investments are in fact able to help countries reach children who are currently missing out on essential vaccines, as part of the Gavi commitment to universal Health Coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals.