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RSV Vaccine Could Protect High-Risk Adults Under 60, Pfizer Says
Ty RoushForbes Staff
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Apr 9, 2024,10:47am EDT
TOPLINE
A late-stage trial of Pfizer’s RSV vaccine showed promising results in adults under 60 years old, suggesting the shot could help people as young as 18, the company announced Tuesday, amid an effort to expand the vaccine’s availability to more people who are at a higher risk to the potentially lethal infection.
Pfizer said the shot—approved for adults age 60 and older—had similar effects in adults over age 18. ... [+]
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KEY FACTS
Pfizer’s vaccine, marketed as Abrysvo, resulted in an immune response in adults aged 18 to 59 who are at a higher risk of RSV disease because of underlying medical conditions after a single dose, the company said.The immune response was not worse than the response observed in adults aged 60 and above, whom the Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccine for last year, Pfizer said.
Participants in the late-stage trial had increased levels of antibodies that fight against the two main RSV subtypes compared with levels before vaccination, according to Pfizer, which noted its vaccine was “well-tolerated” and had safety findings similar to previous trials involving other groups.
Pfizer’s trial involved 681 adults aged 18 to 59 who received a single dose of Abrysvo or a placebo, in addition to 200 immunocompromised adults—half of whom were age 60 or older—who received two doses of the vaccine one month apart.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Pfizer said it would send its data to regulatory groups for approval while requesting the vaccine become available to patients over 18 years old. The biotech company is also studying the vaccine’s response in high-risk children ages 2 to 17.BIG NUMBER
9.5%. That’s how many adults aged 18 to 49 have a chronic condition that puts them at a high risk of severe RSV disease, according to Pfizer. This increases to 24.3% among adults aged 50 to 64.KEY BACKGROUND
The FDA approved Pfizer’s vaccine to protect adults ages 60 years and older from respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, a common respiratory infection. A late-stage clinical trial of Abrysvo indicated the vaccine was nearly 86% effective against severe illness for the age group, according to Pfizer. RSV causes mild, cold-like illness in healthy adults, though it could trigger potentially fatal disease in older adults, infants and people with underlying medical issues like asthma, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.PROMOTED
