Words by GOLD newsdesk
A GSK vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has shown to be highly efficacious in a Phase 3 trial, demonstrating a reduction of severe RSV by 94.1% and an overall vaccine efficacy of 82.6% in patients aged 60 and above, the company has announced.
The results are a particularly pivotal moment for RSV prevention as there is currently no vaccine against the infection. Older adults are one of the most vulnerable groups to the disease, in fact, it is estimated that 177,000 are hospitalised and 14,000 of them die in the US due to RSV infections each year.
“RSV remains one of the major infectious diseases without a vaccine, despite over 60 years of research,” commented Tony Wood, Chief Scientific Officer, GSK. “We believe that with the high vaccine efficacy demonstrated in this pivotal trial, our vaccine candidate has the potential to help reduce the significant global burden of RSV-associated disease in older adults, including those at the greatest risk of severe outcomes due to their age or underlying comorbidities.”
Much like COVID-19, the disease can be particularly lethal for older adult patients with chronic lung or heart conditions, as well as those with weakened immune systems. The infection can also lead to high rates morbidity in infants, indicating that if the vaccine was to be approved, GSK may seek to extend its scope to include children.
