Sanofi shipping BEYFORTUS® in US to help protect babies against RSV disease; new manufacturing line approved by FDA
- Company planning for every eligible baby in the US to have access to BEYFORTUS
- New BEYFORTUS filling line approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to expand manufacturing capacity and help meet demand
- 2 out of 3 babies get respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) disease1
BRIDGEWATER, N.J., Sept. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Sanofi is shipping BEYFORTUS (nirsevimab-alip) 50mg and 100mg Injection doses in the US to private healthcare providers and to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for its Vaccines for Children program to help ensure the majority of doses are available ahead of RSV season. The US market is anticipated to have enough supply so that every eligible baby born outside of the season will have access to immunization at a regular checkup and those born during the season will have access at birth. BEYFORTUS is the first and only long-acting monoclonal antibody approved for the prevention of RSV lower respiratory tract disease (LRTD) in newborns and infants born during or entering their first RSV season, and for children up to 24 months of age who remain vulnerable to severe RSV disease through their second RSV season.
Thomas Grenier
Head of Vaccines, North America, Sanofi
"We're proud to offer BEYFORTUS doses to help protect every eligible baby in the US this RSV season. This accomplishment aimed at equitable access was made possible through close partnership with the White House, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and healthcare providers to make BEYFORTUS widely available. This upcoming season, we look forward to BEYFORTUS offering its demonstrated real-world protection to as many infants as possible."
In collaboration with AstraZeneca, which leads BEYFORTUS development and manufacturing, doses have already been produced and packaged on a new filling line for BEYFORTUS. With the recent FDA approval of this filling line, these doses are now ready to ship, expanding supply for the Northern Hemisphere ahead of the 2024/2025 RSV season (November – March).2 Another filling line is expected to provide doses for the 2024/2025 season, adding additional production capacity. Sanofi continues to work with AstraZeneca to build inventory for this and future seasons.
Sanofi also took additional measures to ensure greater readiness for this season by launching the BEYFORTUS Reservation Program, which provides critical insight on private healthcare provider demand and allows for prioritized fulfillment of requests placed through the program. The company also continues to collaborate with government agencies, including the White House's Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy, to ensure readiness. Private customers interested in ordering BEYFORTUS doses should contact their Sanofi representative or request a representative at BEYFORTUS.com.
About RSV
RSV is a highly contagious virus that can lead to serious respiratory illness for infants.3 Two out of three infants are infected with RSV during their first year of life and almost all children are infected by their second birthday.1,4 Most of the time RSV will cause a mild, cold-like illness.5 However, RSV is the most common cause of LRTD, including bronchiolitis and pneumonia, in infants.2 RSV LRTD is the leading cause of hospitalization in babies under one, with most hospitalizations for RSV occurring in healthy infants born at term.5,6 Each year in the US, an estimated 590,000 RSV cases in babies under one require medical care, including physician office, urgent care, emergency room visits and hospitalizations.7
About BEYFORTUS
BEYFORTUS is a single-dose long-acting antibody designed to help prevent RSV LRTD in infants through 5 months, the length of the typical RSV season in the US. For children undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass, an additional dose of BEYFORTUS is recommended as soon as the child is stable after surgery. An additional dose of BEYFORTUS is also indicated for children up to 24 months of age, regardless of body weight, who remain vulnerable to severe RSV disease through their second RSV season.
As a long-acting antibody provided directly to newborns and infants as a single dose, BEYFORTUS offers fast-acting protection to help prevent lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV without requiring activation of the immune system.8 BEYFORTUS administration can be timed to coincide with the RSV season.
BEYFORTUS has been approved for use in the US, the European Union, China, Japan, and many other countries around the world. Special designations to facilitate expedited development of BEYFORTUS were granted by several regulatory agencies, including Breakthrough Therapy Designation and Fast Track Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Breakthrough Therapy Designation and Priority Review designation by The China Center for Drug Evaluation under the National Medical Products Administration; access granted to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) PRIority MEdicines (PRIME) scheme and EMA accelerated assessment; Promising Innovative Medicine designation by the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency; and BEYFORTUS has been named "a medicine for prioritized development" under the Project for Drug Selection to Promote New Drug Development in Pediatrics by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development.
INDICATION
BEYFORTUS is a prescription medicine used to help prevent a serious lung disease caused by Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) in:
- Newborns and babies under 1 year of age born during or entering their first RSV season.
- Children up to 24 months of age who remain at risk of severe RSV disease through their second RSV season.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
Your child should not take BEYFORTUS if your child has a history of serious allergic reactions to nirsevimab-alip or any of the ingredients in BEYFORTUS.
Before your child receives BEYFORTUS, tell your healthcare provider about all of your child's medical conditions, including if your child:
- has ever had a reaction to BEYFORTUS.
- has bleeding or bruising problems. If your child has a problem with bleeding or bruises easily, an injection could cause a problem.
Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines your child takes, including prescription and over-the- counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Your infant should not receive a medicine called palivizumab if they have already received BEYFORTUS in the same RSV season.
Serious allergic reactions have happened with BEYFORTUS. Get medical help right away if your child has any of the following signs or symptoms of a serious allergic reaction:
- swelling of the face, mouth, or tongue
- difficulty swallowing or breathing
- unresponsiveness
- bluish color of skin, lips, or under fingernails
- muscle weakness
- severe rash, hives, or itching
The most common side effects of BEYFORTUS include rash and pain, swelling, or hardness at the site of your child's injection. These are not all the possible side effects of BEYFORTUS. Call your healthcare provider if you have questions about side effects.
Please see full Prescribing Information, including Patient Information for more details.
MAT-US-2408133-v2.0-09/2024
About Sanofi
We are an innovative global healthcare company, driven by one purpose: we chase the miracles of science to improve people's lives. Our team, across the world, is dedicated to transforming the practice of medicine by working to turn the impossible into the possible. We provide potentially life-changing treatment options and life-saving vaccine protection to millions of people globally, while putting sustainability and social responsibility at the center of our ambitions.
Sanofi is listed on EURONEXT: SAN and NASDAQ: SNY
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References
1. Glezen WP, Taber LH, Frank AL, Kasel JA. Risk of primary infection and reinfection with respiratory syncytial virus. Am J Dis Child. 1986;140(6):543-546.
2. Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection (RSV). "RSV in Infants and Young Children," June 5, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/rsv/infants-young-children/index.html.
3. RSV Symptoms and Diagnosis | American Lung Association. https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/rsv/symptoms-diagnosis.
4. Walsh, EE. Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection: An Illness for All Ages. Clinics in Chest Medicine. 2017;38(1):2936. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccm.2016.11.010.
5. Suh M, Movva N, Jiang X, et al. Respiratory syncytial virus is the leading cause of United States infant hospitalizations, 2009-2019: a study of the national (nationwide) inpatient sample. J Infect Dis. 2022;226(suppl 2):S154-S163.
6. Arriola CS, Kim L, Langley G, et al. Estimated burden of community-onset respiratory syncytial virus–associated hospitalizations among children aged <2 years in the United States, 2014-15. J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc. 2020;9(5):587-595.
7. Rainisch G, Adhikari B, Meltzer MI, Langley G. Estimating the impact of multiple immunization products on medically-attended respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections in infants. Vaccine. 2020;38(2):251-257.
8. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vaccines & Immunizations. August 18, 2017. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/immunity-types.htm. Accessed August 2023.
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