RSV Therapeutics LLC

Sales of Pfizers new vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus were lower in the third quarter than during the same period last year, but the company pointed to signs of growing market share as reason for confidence in the shots market potential.Between July and September, Abrysvo brought Pfizer $356 million in sales globally, compared to last years total of $375 million, according to third quarter earnings Pfizer reported Tuesday. Revenue across the first nine months was higher, reaching $557 million versus the $375 million last year, because Abrysvo wasnt approved in the U.S. for older adults until the end of May last year.So far, Pfizer has trailed competitor GSK, which has been able to dominate the nascent RSV vaccine market with its shot Arexvy, despite it only winning approval weeks earlier.However, Pfizer said Abrysvos market share has increased, exceeding 50% of shipped volume for the third quarter. Abrysvos slice of vaccinations in the retail setting has also climbed for nine consecutive weeks through mid-October, currently reaching 43%, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in prepared remarks.Both companies are working to expand the number of people eligible for vaccination. Last week, the Food and Drug Administration cleared Abrysvo for use in certain adults aged 18 years to 59 years old who are at higher risk of RSV-related disease. Previously it only had been available for adults 60 years or older, or for pregnant women.On a conference call Tuesday, Pfizers commercial chief Aamir Malik said the company is seeing really good momentum in maternal vaccination. Over the first four weeks of the season, Malik said, Pfizer shipped 56% more units of Abrysvo to obstetricians and gynecologists in health systems than during the same period last year.However, uptake among older adults has been disrupted somewhat by recommendations provided this summer by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency narrowed its guidance to urge vaccination most heavily in adults over 75 years old and in those aged 60 to 74 years who are at higher risk.Company executives said the updated guidelines have affected uptake. [Abrysvo vaccinations] are at lower volumes, from a market perspective, than where they were last year,“ said Malik, on Tuesdays call. Malik cited the CDCs recommendation, as well as the timing of COVID vaccination this year.CDC advisers, who have since met again following that recommendation, also havent endorsed expanding their recommendations to adults younger than 60, or recommending previously vaccinated individuals to get another shot.Mikael Dolsten, Pfizers departing chief scientific officer, said Tuesday the company is accumulating evidence on revaccination and suggested that an additional dose might be appropriate after several years.Beyond RSV, Pfizer also talked up its next-generation pneumococcal vaccines that it eventually hopes will replace its top-selling Prevnar 20. One, which covers 25 serotypes of the bacteria that causes disease, is in Phase 2 testing. Another, covering more than 30 serotypes, is in preclinical development.Both shots would provide additional coverage against pneumococcal disease, but Pfizer has competitors. Merck & Co. recently won approval of a 21-valent shot called Capvaxive, while biotechnology company Vaxcyte impressed with early trial data on a rival product. In a note to clients, analysts at Jefferies said Pfizers 25-valent shot might have difficulty competing. '

The maternal vaccine is recommended by the CDC for use between weeks 32 and 36 of pregnancy. After a recent FDA approval and CDC recommendation, Pfizer's Abyrsvo is the first maternal vaccine to protect babies from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Now, new research from the company suggests that widespread uptake of the shot could significantly reduce infant hospitalizations and save hundreds of millions of dollars in annual costs. Widespread uptake of the vaccine could slash annual hospitalizations in half, reduce emergency department visits by 31.8% and cut outpatient clinic visits by 32.2% among the 3.7 million U.S. babies that are less than one year old, according to projections shared by the drugmaker ahead of the annual IDWeek meeting. Abrysvo usage could save up to $691.8 million in direct medical costs and up to $110 million in indirect costs, such as work loss, Pfizer’s director of RSV vaccines value and evidence, Dr, Amy Law, said in a media briefing ahead of IDWeek. Law is the presenting author of the work. The team clarifies that the data is based on 100% uptake. Of course, that's an optimistic projection and it's unclear what level of usage the vaccine will see in the real world. Nonetheless, the numbers show that Pfizer’s offering can have a “substantial impact” on easing RSV’s burden, Law said. As it stands, more than 592,000 RSV cases in infants occur each year, accounting for an annual economic burden of about $1.7 billion, Law said. With the maternal vaccine, the company expects some 200,000 cases to be averted. The first-of-its-kind vaccine won its maternal approval from the FDA in August. The CDC's recommendation followed shortly after. This RSV season, infants have two available options, giving pregnant individuals a choice in protection methods, Law pointed out. Sanofi and AstraZeneca’s antibody Beyfortus also protects infants up to 24 months of age. Beyfortus snagged its FDA nod in July in what Sanofi’s Executive Vice President of Vaccines Thomas Triomphe called an “unprecedented moment for protecting infant health.”

Respondents 60+ years old perceive minimal risk of contracting RSV, but remain concerned about potential impact on their quality of life PHILADELPHIA, June 12, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A new survey from Health Union, the leader in social health, reveals that older individuals - including those living with chronic health conditions - are open to discussing the vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus, commonly known as RSV, with their healthcare professionals and accepting their recommendation about the shot. The findings from the Vaccine Awareness, Use And Intentions survey, which aimed to uncover the perspectives and experiences with various specific vaccines, show this is the case despite respondents having little previous awareness of the newly approved RSV vaccine and minimal exposure so far. In early May, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first RSV vaccine, specifically for people 60 and older; other RSV vaccines, with varying indications, are also in the pipeline. Of the survey's 3,307 respondents, 77% are at least 60 years old. With 98% of 60-and-up respondents living with at least one chronic health condition, analyzing this subset allows for a greater understanding of behaviors and perspectives about the RSV vaccine, and the impact of contracting RSV, within the chronic condition community. Only 35% of respondents who were 60 and older said they had even heard of an RSV vaccine when the survey was fielded in late March, less than two months before the first vaccine was approved. Six in 10 of the 60-and-up cohort said they would be extremely likely to ask their healthcare professional about the RSV vaccine once it was available, while nearly two-thirds said they would be extremely likely to accept their HCP's recommendation about the vaccine. Among this subset of respondents, exposure so far to RSV has been low, although a significant portion of those experiences have been severe. Only 2% have personally contracted RSV. To put it in context with other vaccine-related conditions, fewer respondents have contracted RSV than COVID-19 (44%), flu (25%), pneumonia (14%) and shingles (9%). However, nearly four in 10 who have contracted RSV identified their experiences as "severe" or "very severe." Inversely, that is higher than those who identified "severe" or "very severe" experiences with COVID-19 (17%), flu (17%) and shingles (24%); pneumonia is the exception, with 47% considering their experiences at least "severe." Despite low perceived risk of contracting RSV, respondents still expressed a modicum of concern about its potential impact. Less than a quarter of 60-and-up respondents were at least somewhat concerned about contracting it over the next year, while nearly three-fourths would be at least somewhat concerned about how contracting RSV would impact their quality of life. Respondents' comments reveal they are concerned about recent RSV-related illnesses and hospitalizations among older populations. For example, one individual said that "anything respiratory can be a potential death sentence for me." Another pointed out that "recent illness and hospitalizations due to RSV in the senior population demonstrates that it is not restricted to infants." Health Union's Vaccine Awareness, Use And Intentions survey, which fielded March 20-28, 2023, included responses from 3,307 people aged 50 and older, recruited from across more than a dozen of the company's chronic condition-specific online health communities. Additional survey results may be available upon request. About Health Union Health Union is the proven industry leader driving and amplifying social health. As the premier social health company, only Health Union encourages the dynamic, real-time action people take to find meaningful connections and share information that impact their health journey. The company reaches millions of people through the largest portfolio of condition-specific online health communities (e.g., Migraine.com, MultipleSclerosis.net, LungCancer.net) and health leaders - addressing virtually every condition and providing the information, connection and support they need. SOURCE Health Union