GSK Korea will help vaccinate toddlers more efficiently with its newly launched Infanrix IPV-Hib, a quintuplet vaccine that covers diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), the company said Tuesday.
The new vaccine has greatly improved convenience compared to the conventional Infanrix IPV and Hib vaccines that required toddlers to undergo six injections, as it only requires three injections every two months after birth. Also, it is possible to co-inoculate with other vaccines that require vaccination at 2, 4, and 6 months of age, including hepatitis B, MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella combination vaccine), the company said.
Infanrix IPV-Hib has the largest number of pertussis antigens among children's DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, purified pertussis mixed vaccines) on the market as it uses three pertussis antigens -- filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA), pertussis toxin (PT) and pertactin (PRN).
Notably, the product is the only vaccine that contains PRN among the locally marketed pertussis vaccines.
"If a baby coughs like an old person suffering from a fatal illness and eventually vomits and suffers from high fever, the only solution is to get vaccinated," Professor Lee Jin of the Department of Pediatrics at Hanil Hospital said in a news conference Thursday. "In such cases, Infanrix IPV-Hib is one of the most efficient vaccines sold here as the pertactin helps the vaccines enter the body effectively."
The company hopes that by adding efficiency to the excellence of the existing Infanrix brand, it can become a vaccine that leads to the prevention of disease for infants and toddlers, Lee said.
According to the company, Infanrix IPV-Hib has confirmed the vaccines an equivalent level of immunogenicity and safety profile compared to the single vaccine through several clinical studies.
Local studies have confirmed that the three basic inoculations with Infanrix IPV-Hib at 2, 4 and 6 months of age showed 100 percent immunogenicity against diphtheria, tetanus, Hib, polioviruses 1 and 2. The treatment also showed 99.5 percent immunogenicity against poliovirus 3 and 100 percent immunogenicity against all three pertussis antigens (PT, FHA, PRN).
Clinical studies conducted in Taiwan and Canada showed that the Infanrix IPV-Hib inoculated group showed the same level of immunogenicity in the group that received a separate dose of Infanrix IPV and Hib vaccines.
Infanrix IPV-Hib is licensed in about 73 countries, including the U.S., U.K., Sweden, France, and Germany. Korea has included it in the pediatric mandatory vaccination category, and hospitals offer vaccination free of charge.
"Infanrix IPV-Hib is likely to reduce immunization stress for children and parents as it reduces the number of vaccination by one-third," GSK Korea Marketing Director Lee Kyu-nam said. "It will also increase the timely vaccination rate compared to the single vaccine and saves time for full vaccination."