Sanofi

First Doses of Injectable Polio Vaccine ShanIPV(TM) Soon Available for Indian Infants - Seite 2

About Oral and Injectable Polio Vaccines
OPV has been instrumental in ending polio cases in India and has been used across the world to reduce the number of cases of polio by over 99 percent in the past twenty years. Today, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that the live OPV be supplemented and then replaced by an inactivated IPV. OPV and IPV stimulate the body's immune system in slightly different ways so children who receive both should be even better protected against the disease.

When the world is polio-free, IPV will be the only vaccine used to make sure that the disease never comes back, according to a 2012 WHO policy. OPV contains a mixture of live attenuated poliovirus strains. Although OPV is safe it is not advisable to be used after achieving a polio-free status: when polio no longer exists in the wild, live virus cannot still exist in a vaccine.

The universal introduction of IPV, a vaccine that has been used in many countries of the world for years, is a necessary step towards achieving a polio-free world by 2019 according to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) Endgame Strategic Plan. Today, more than 110 countries have introduced IPV in their immunization calendars.

Sanofi Pasteur committed to a polio-free world
In February 2014, Sanofi Pasteur - the world's largest producer of IPV - and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a joint price support mechanism, including a financial contribution from both organizations. The mechanism allows Gavi to make IPV available for inclusion in the routine immunization schedules in 73 of the world's poorest countries.

Sanofi Pasteur, as a leader in providing both OPV and IPV, has been a partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative for over 20 years. The company has provided more than five billion doses of OPV to UNICEF over last two decades. In 1982, Sanofi Pasteur registered the first enhanced-potency inactivated polio vaccine (IPV), which is now distributed globally as a stand-alone poliovirus vaccine as well as in combination pediatric vaccines to immunize against many diseases in a single shot. Since then, Sanofi Pasteur has distributed more than one billion doses of IPV and IPV-containing vaccines.