BASEL (dpa-AFX) - Novartis (NVS) announced Friday that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation or JCVI in the UK has recommended the inclusion of Bexsero (Meningococcal Group B Vaccine [rDNA, component, adsorbed]) in the National Immunisation Programme.
According to the recommendation, Bexsero should be routinely used in infants from two months of age to help protect against meningococcal serogroup B (meningitis B).
The company said the implementation will be carried out by the Department of Health through the National Health Service or NHS, following the public procurement process.
Meningitis B is a rare but aggressive and often deadly disease; it is the leading cause of meningococcal disease and septicemia in Europe. Meningitis B can kill or cause serious life-long disabilities within 24 hours of onset, leaving little time for intervention. Like infants, adolescents are also at an increased risk for contracting meningitis and have a high fatality rate from the disease. Approximately 3,200 people in the UK are affected by bacterial meningitis and septicemia each year, with meningitis B responsible for more than half of those cases.
Bexsero is the only licensed broad coverage vaccine approved in Europe, Canada and Australia for all vulnerable age groups from two months to help protect against meningitis B. It was also approved for use in the US under a treatment Investigational New Drug or IND designation as part of vaccination programs at Princeton University and the University of California Santa Barbara or UCSB.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX