GSK extends its commitment to GAVI Alliance to help protect millions more children against infectious diseases
Adds to Synflorix vaccine supply agreement to help protect an additional 80 million children from pneumococcal disease
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is to provide an additional 240 million doses of Synflorix to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) over the next 10 years to help protect millions more children against infectious pneumococcal diseases such as meningitis and pneumonia.
This builds on the 480 million doses of the vaccine that GSK has already committed to GAVI through the Advance Market Commitment (AMC) framework, which brings discounted vaccines to children living in the world’s poorest countries.
The additional doses of Synflorix will be provided at US$3.40 per dose, a fraction of developed world prices.
GSK provides GAVI with a broad portfolio of vaccines including: Synflorix, which protects against pneumococcal disease; Rotarix vaccination for rotavirus, a common cause of diarrhoea; Cervarix, which helps protect girls against cervical cancer caused by human papilloma virus; and a combined vaccination for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenzae type b.
With this new vaccine supply agreement extension, GSK is committed to provide more than 850 million vaccine doses that will help protect up to 300 million children and adolescent girls in the developing world from these diseases by 2024.
Christophe Weber, President and General Manager of Vaccines, GSK, said: ‘Since its creation, GAVI and its support for the Advance Market Commitment has made a tremendous impact, saving millions of children’s lives. Pneumococcal disease, however, continues to cause death and suffering in our world’s poorest countries. We are proud to extend our commitment to GAVI.’
To date, more than 50 million doses of the Synflorix vaccine have been delivered to GAVI countries, including Uganda, Mozambique, Madagascar, Kenya, Ethiopia and Pakistan. Zambia is the most recent country to include the vaccine in its national immunisation programme under the AMC in July 2013.
