Britain has snubbed local drugs giant GSK in favour of a US pharma rival to supply vaccines to treat RSV, known as the ‘silent killer’ of the elderly.
The Government has struck a two-year supply agreement with Pfizer for it to provide more than 3.5 million doses of its RSV vaccine for older people and more than 1.4m doses of the jab for pregnant mothers.
It comes after the vaccine, which is among the first to treat the deadly virus, got the green light from UK regulators last year. RSV causes around 33,000 NHS hospitalisations of under-fives annually and kills between 20 and 30 youngsters a year. It kills an estimated 33,000 over-65s every year in the UK and other high-income countries.
Government advisors said last year that the UK should start a national rollout of an RSV vaccination programme.
However, the deal to strike the deal with Pfizer comes as a blow to British drugs giant GSK, which also got approval for an RSV vaccine in the UK last year.
The British company has been enjoying huge success in the US with its RSV vaccine Arexvy.
Figures from January suggested that more than two thirds of the RSV vaccines given in the country were GSK’s jab.
A spokesman for GSK said it was “disappointed not to have been selected to supply our RSV vaccine for the UK eligible population”.
However, they added: “We are very confident in the value it delivers, with data that demonstrates sustained efficacy against lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV in adults aged 60 and over.”
Pfizer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The latest decision follows post-pandemic tensions between the Government and British pharmaceutical companies after industry chiefs last year warned that ministers were squandering a lead in life sciences.
AstraZeneca at the time claimed the UK’s tax policies were to blame for it choosing Ireland over Macclesfield for a new £320m drug factory.
GSK had said the country was at a “tipping point” for its life sciences sector.
More recently, however, there have been signs of easing frustrations, with both GSK and AstraZeneca plotting big drug factory investments.
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