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Merck's Rotateq rotavirus vaccine added to childhood immunization schedule
By Lisa Kerner
Erie, Pa., Feb. 21 - Merck & Co., Inc. said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices unanimously voted to recommend that all infants, starting at six to 12 weeks of age, be vaccinated with Rotateq (rotavirus vaccine, live, oral, pentavalent) to prevent rotavirus gastroenteritis, a leading cause of severe dehydrating diarrhea in infants and young children.
The committee recommended that the oral, ready-to-use, three-dose vaccine be given during the current routine well baby visits at two, four, and six months of age, according to a company news release.
On Feb. 3, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Rotateq for use in infants between the ages of six to 32 weeks.
"With about 2.7 million episodes of rotavirus occurring each year among children under age five in the United States, this ACIP [Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices]decision highlights the importance of rotavirus disease prevention and adds this needed vaccine to the current pediatric immunization schedule," vice president of policy, public health and medical affairs, Merck Vaccines, Mark Feinberg said in the release.
In addition to filing for licensing in more than 50 countries in 2005, Merck plans to conduct clinical studies of Rotateq in Africa and Asia.
Merck said the FDA is also currently reviewing Zostavax, its investigational vaccine to prevent shingles and shingles-associated pain in adults, and Gardasil, an investigational HPV and cervical cancer vaccine.
Merck is a global research-driven pharmaceutical company based in Whitehouse Station, N.J.
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