Recent clinical studies at the Institute of Virology, Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam
have concluded that GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK) H5N1 adjuvanted pre-pandemic influenza vaccine, Prepandrix™, gives broad cross-clade immunity. This immunity is maintained when the second dose is given months after the first dose. Even if the second dose is formulated from a different H5N1 strain, the immunity stays. A pre-pandemic influenza vaccine can be produced in advance and stored and can be readily available when WHO declares a pandemic.

GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) is the first company to get the go ahead from the European Commission (EC) for a wide spectrum vaccine to protect humans ahead of a possible future bird flu pandemic. The company will market its pre-pandemic vaccine Prepandrix in all 27 member states of the European Union (EU). Although Prepandrix has only just received its first regulatory approval, countries such as the US, Switzerland and Finland have already started stockpiling the vaccine, sales of which last year topped £102 million.

New data from an extended follow-up study show that GlaxoSmithKline PLC.’s cervical cancer candidate vaccine, Cervarix, generates sustained high levels of neutralizing antibodies against the two most common cervical cancer-causing virus types for up to 6.4 years. This is the longest duration of sustained neutralising antibody levels reported against both virus types HPV 16 and 18 with a cervical cancer vaccine to date. Experts believe that neutralizing antibodies are essential for protection against cervical cancer.

New data related to GlaxoSmithKline’s CERVARIX(R) demonstrates that the cervical cancer candidate vaccine provides significant protection for women against the four most common cancer-causing human papillomavirus types. The vaccine gives protection for nearly six and a half years, which is the longest duration of protection reported to date. During this period, the vaccine showed 100% efficacy in preventing precancerous lesions due to cancer-causing virus types 16 and 18 as well as provided substantial protection against infection caused by virus types 31 and 45.