Merck announced that, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States has approved an expanded indication for the VAXNEUVANCE for treating the invasive pneumococcal disease in the children between 6 weeks to 17 years of age.
The VAXNEUVANCE is now indicated for the active immunization for the prevention of the invasive disease, which has been caused by the serotypes 1, 3, 4, 5, 6A, 6B, 7F, 9V, 14, 18C, 19A, 19F, 22F, 23F and 33F of Streptococcus pneumoniae in the individuals of 6 weeks of age and older and the approval has been followed by the Priority Review of US FDA of the supplemental application of Merck.
VAXNEUVANCE has been contra-indicated for the individuals along with a serious allergic reaction to any of the component of VAXNEUVANCE. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the US CDC has been expected for meeting to discuss and also making the recommendations on the use of the VAXNEUVANCE in the pediatric populations.
In spite of the decreases in the incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease in the children and certain main serotypes are continuing to cause the severe illness that can possibly lead to death in the children under the age of 5 years along with the serotypes 3, 22F and 33F that are responsible for more than a quarter of all the invasive pneumococcal disease cases in the particular population.
