Friday, Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) revealed that Rotateq, its pentavalent rotavirus vaccine, received pre-qualification status from the World Health Organization, or WHO, which allows expanded access to the vaccine globally.
Attaining the WHO pre-qualification status, Rotateq entitles to be procured by Pan American Health Organization, or PAHO, UNICEF and other United Nations agencies for use in national vaccination programs. This also allows the drug to expand access and reach the least developed countries facing consequences of rotavirus gastroenteritis.
Rotateq is an oral-liquid vaccine for the treatment of rotavirus, which is the leading cause of severe acute gastroenteritis in infants and young children. Rotavirus infects nearly all children worldwide by age 5 and causes approximately 1.9 million hospitalizations each year in developing countries.
Merck also added that it has committed to provide additional safety and efficacy data from Africa and Asia, and is currently conducting clinical trials in these regions in partnership with the Rotavirus Vaccine Program of PATH, an international, non-profit organization.
Earlier in 2006, the GAVI Alliance, identifying the need for rotavirus vaccines for public health, committed to provide funding for the introduction of rotavirus vaccines in eligible countries. Now, with WHO pre-qualification status, Rotateq could be used in national rotavirus vaccination programs.
MRK is currently trading down 3.62% at $25.26 on the NYSE.
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