August-Vaccines

August is National Immunization Awareness Month

Recognizing the impact that vaccines have on such a large portion of the population, especially on children, Innovation.org highlights important and groundbreaking research into new vaccines. Most vaccines work by causing the immune system to think that a real infection is taking place, even though it is not. Then, when the person is exposed to that illness again, the immune system is already activated and ready to fend it off. Many diseases once considered devastating to the world’s population, such as polio, smallpox, and influenza, are now rare and easily preventable because of vaccines.

In addition, researchers are also developing therapeutic vaccines for diseases such as HIV and cancer. These vaccines are for people already living with a particular condition and are intended to strengthen the immune system in an effort to ameliorate symptoms or halt progression.

According to recent reports, America’s biopharmaceutical research companies have 145 vaccines in development to prevent a variety of infectious diseases, 33 in development for HIV/AIDS, and 42 in development for various cancers. Read more

Saving and Improving Lives

New medicines and vaccines play a significant role in the life expectancy gains made in the U.S. and around the world. Research published in the journal Health Affairs, concludes that new medicines generated 40% of the two-year gain in life expectancy achieved in 52 countries between 1986 and 2000.

Recent Advances in Vaccines

Researchers have made many advances in successfully developing vaccines for diseases that once affected people across the world. Read below for information about recent advances in vaccine research. Read more

Recent FDA Approvals

Prevnar 13™ – pneumococcal 13-valent vaccine (approved 2/24/2010)
For the prevention of invasive disease caused by 13 different serotypes of Streptococcus pneumonia.
Menveo® – meningococcal (groups A, C, Y and W-135) oligosaccharide diphtheria CRM197 conjugate vaccine (approved 2/19/2010)
For the prevention of invasive meningococcal disease caused by Neisseria meningitides serogroups A, C, Y and W-135.
Afluria® – seasonal influenza vaccine – approved 7/20/2009
For the treatment of seasonal influenza.
Fluarix® – seasonal influenza vaccine – approved 7/20/2009
For the treatment of seasonal influenza.
FluLaval® – seasonal influenza vaccine – approved 7/20/2009
For the treatment of seasonal influenza.
Fluvirin® – seasonal influenza vaccine – approved 7/20/2009
For the treatment of seasonal influenza.
Fluzone® – seasonal influenza vaccine – approved 7/20/2009
For the treatment of seasonal influenza.
FluMist® – seasonal influenza vaccine – approved 7/20/2009
For the treatment of seasonal influenza.
IXIARO® – encephalitis vaccine approved 3/30/2009
Vaccine to prevent Japanese encephalitis injection.

Click here for a full list of recent FDA approvals in all disease areas.

Historic Impact of Vaccines

A Decade of Vaccines

Bill Gates and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have appealed for a "decade of vaccines" to help strengthen global immunization programs. Their goal is to save an additional 4 million lives by 2015 and 10 million by 2020. "Vaccines are an extremely elegant technology. They can be inexpensive, they are easy to deliver and they are proven to protect children from disease," says Bill Gates.^[i]

A Vaccine for AIDS

A preventative vaccine is crucial to the fight against AIDS. "A safe and effective HIV vaccine is critical to the control of HIV globally," says Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

According to the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), without a significant improvement in prevention efforts, including an HIV vaccine, infections could double from about 5 million a year in 2005 to 10 million a year by 2030. IAVI estimates that the potential positive impact of AIDS vaccines would be enormous, especially in the developing world.

Conservatively, a vaccine that is 50 percent effective and given to only 30 percent of the population could reduce new HIV infections by 34 percent over 15 years, according to IAVI. Currently, 33 vaccines are in development.

Polio Vaccine
In the early 1950s, summers were filled with fear. Swimming pools, summer camps, and playgrounds lay empty as children were kept at home to keep them safe from a crippling and sometimes deadly disease: polio. The historic Salk vaccine, introduced in 1954, caused polio lose its grip on the nation.

Innovation in Vaccines – Discoverers Awards
Each year, PhRMA honors pharmaceutical research scientists whose research and development of new medicines have greatly benefited humankind, and whose dedication and interest in improving the quality of life exemplify the best in the research industry with the Discoverers Award.

The Story of Gardasil^®

The 2009 Discoverers Award was awarded to Eliav Barr, Ph.D., Barry Buckland, Ph.D., and Katherin Jansen, Ph.D. for the discovery of Gardasil, just the second prophylactic cancer vaccine ever and the very first vaccine against cervical cancer. Gardasil was a major breakthrough—in the estimation of many “the top medical advance for 2006. The idea that cancer could not only be caused by a virus, but also be prevented with a vaccine, was once thought novel, controversial and, in some quarters, maybe even ridiculous. Since June 2006, however, over 36 million doses have been distributed globally. Read more

The Story of Prevnar^®
The 2005 Discoverers Award went to Ronald J. Eby, Ph.D., Dace V. Madore, Ph.D., and Velupillai Puvanesarajah, Ph.D., for the creation of Prevnar, a new vaccine for pediatric pneumonia and ear infections worldwide were caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria. According to the World Health Organization, one million deaths worldwide in children 5 years and younger were linked to S. pneumoniae infection each year prior to approval of Prevnar in 2000. Since then it has all but wiped out invasive pneumoccal disease in young children, preventing 12,700 cases in the U.S. in 2002 alone. Read more

Click here for a list of all of the Discoverers Awards given by PhRMA since 1987.

^[i]Thomas Reuters, Gates says vaccine investment offers best returns, http://www.reuters.

com/article/2011/05/17/us-gates-idUSTRE74G2D520110517. accessed 27, July 2011