OREANDA-NEWS. Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) today announced new commitments aimed at ensuring the world’s most resource-limited countries have access to Prevenar 13* (pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine (PCV), 13 – valent, absorbed) through Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Pfizer’s commitments were announced during Gavi’s pledging conference being held in Berlin, Germany, in support of Gavi’s 2016 – 2020 strategy.

Pfizer announced a 20 cent reduction of its per-dose price for Prevenar 13, from \$3.30 per-dose to \$3.10 per dose for the new four-dose vial presentation, which is expected to be introduced under the Advanced Market Commitment (AMC) program in 2016. Because of the practical constraints experienced by health workers operating in many Gavi countries, the new multi-dose presentation was developed for maximum efficiency, such as helping to address storage requirements and shipping costs in the field. This new lower per- dose price will be extended to all Gavi eligible and Gavi graduated countries through 2025, continuing to ensure that even children in the most remote regions of the world can receive this life-saving immunization.

Pfizer is proud to partner with Gavi to achieve its ambitious goal – providing countries with the support needed to potentially immunize an additional 300 million of the world’s poorest children against life-threatening diseases by 2020 and thus, potentially assisting in the prevention of more than five million premature deaths.

“It is encouraging to see vaccine manufacturers increasingly recognizing the importance of sustainable vaccine markets for developing countries,” said Gavi Chief Executive Officer Dr. Seth Berkley. “The commitments made today will help us make more vaccine doses available at a lower cost and will support countries as they move towards financing and sustaining their own immunization programs. This will lead to more children being protected and more deaths being averted.”

Pfizer’s commitments aim to help countries maintain their pneumococcal vaccination programs and to sustain the significant public health gains such programs bring, even after direct Gavi support ends.

“We are pleased to support Gavi in our shared goal of protecting the world’s most vulnerable children through a sustainable vaccine program,” said Susan Silbermann, president and general manager, Pfizer Vaccines. “No child should die – anywhere in the world – from a vaccine preventable disease. Our ongoing investments to ensure high quality vaccines in adequate and reliable supply, as well as the first preserved PCV multi-dose vial presentation, will help ensure more children have access to Prevenar 13 to prevent pneumococcal disease in communities whose healthcare systems are still developing.”

About Prevenar 13

Prevenar 13 was first introduced for use in infants and young children in December 2009 in Europe and is now approved for such use in more than 120 countries worldwide, including the United States, Canada, Australia and Japan. It is the most widely used pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) in the world, and more than 750 million doses of Prevenar 7-valent/Prevenar 13 have been distributed worldwide. In addition, Prevenar 13 is approved for use in adults 50 years of age and older in more than 90 countries, and it is also approved in the United States, European Union (EU) and other countries for use in older children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 years. Prevenar 13 is also approved in the EU for use in adults 18 to 49 years of age.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

  • Prevnar 13® should not be given to anyone with a history of severe allergic reaction to any component of Prevnar 13® or any diphtheria toxoid–containing vaccine
  • Children and adults with weakened immune systems (eg, HIV infection, leukemia) may have a reduced immune response
  • In adults, immune responses to Prevnar 13® were reduced when given with injected seasonal flu vaccine
  • In adults, the common side effects were pain, redness, or swelling at the injection site, limitation of arm movement, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, joint pain, decreased appetite, chills, or rash
  • A temporary pause of breathing following vaccination has been observed in some infants born prematurely
  • The most commonly reported serious adverse events in infants and toddlers were bronchiolitis (an infection of the lungs) (0.9%), gastroenteritis (inflammation of the stomach and small intestine) (0.9%), and pneumonia (0.9%)
  • In children 6 weeks through 17 years, the most common side effects were tenderness, redness, or swelling at the injection site, irritability, decreased appetite, decreased or increased sleep, and fever
  • Ask your health care provider about the risks and benefits of Prevnar 13®. Only a health care provider can decide if Prevnar 13® is right for you

Pfizer Inc.: Working together for a healthier world®

At Pfizer, we apply science and our global resources to bring therapies to people that extend and significantly improve their lives. We strive to set the standard for quality, safety and value in the discovery, development and manufacture of health care products. Our global portfolio includes medicines and vaccines as well as many of the world's best-known consumer health care products. Every day, Pfizer colleagues work across developed and emerging markets to advance wellness, prevention, treatments and cures that challenge the most feared diseases of our time. Consistent with our responsibility as one of the world's premier innovative biopharmaceutical companies, we collaborate with health care providers, governments and local communities to support and expand access to reliable, affordable health care around the world. For more than 150 years, Pfizer has worked to make a difference for all who rely on us. 

*Trademark. Prevnar 13® is the trade name in the United States, Canada, and Taiwan.

About Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership committed to saving children’s lives and protecting people’s health by increasing access to immunisation in poor countries. The Vaccine Alliance brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private sector partners. Gavi uses innovative finance mechanisms, including co-financing by recipient countries, to secure sustainable funding and adequate supply of quality vaccines. Since 2000, Gavi has contributed to the immunisation of an additional 500 million children and the prevention of approximately 7 million future deaths. 

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is funded by governments (Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Republic of Korea, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, and United States), the European Commission, the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, as well as private and corporate partners (Absolute Return for Kids, Anglo American plc., the A&A Foundation, The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, Comic Relief, the ELMA Vaccines and Immunization Foundation, JP Morgan, “la Caixa” Foundation, LDS Charities, Lions Club International Foundation, and Vodafone).