[afro-nets] GlaxoSmithKline's rotavirus vaccine wins WHO prequalification status

["Vern Weitzel" <claudio@hcmc.netnam.vn>]

GlaxoSmithKline's rotavirus vaccine wins WHO prequalification status
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http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/afx/2007/02/13/afx3421364.html

LONDON (AFX) - GlaxoSmithKline said its Rotarix vaccine for rotavirus gastroenteritis -- the most common cause of severe diarrhoea in children worldwide -- has been awarded prequalification status by the World Health Organisation.

GSK said the prequalification allows UN agencies, such as the Pan American Health Organization and Unicef, to make large purchases and to use the vaccine in mass vaccination programs.

The drug maker said it is the first such clearance awarded to a rotavirus gastroenteritis vaccine.

It added rotavirus infects virtually every child in the world within the first five years of life and is the single greatest cause of diarrhoea-related deaths among children.

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Vern Weitzel
mailto:vern@coombs.anu.edu.au