Drug giants wait for WHO stamp on diarrhea vaccines

By Jason Gale  |   2008-11-24  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

VACCINES against rotavirus, the main cause of severe diarrhea in preschoolers, may win recommendation for global use by the World Health Organization, potentially boosting sales for producers Merck & Co and GlaxoSmithKline Plc.

Rotavirus infection caused 40 percent of hospitalizations for diarrheal illness in children younger than five, Geneva-based WHO reported on Saturday in the online Weekly Epidemiological Record. The result from a study in 35 countries compares with two earlier reviews showing the infection in fewer than 29 percent of infants hospitalized for diarrhea, Bloomberg News reported.

Rotateq, produced by Whitehouse Station, New Jersey-based Merck and Rotarix, sold by London-based Glaxo, had combined sales of US$707 million last year. Results of trials gauging the efficacy of the vaccines in developing countries may be completed as early as next year, WHO said.

Health burden

"If they demonstrate that the vaccine is efficacious, rotavirus vaccines might soon be recommended for global use by WHO," the United Nations agency said. "The large health burden of rotavirus infection underscores the need for vaccines, to control this disease as part of a comprehensive approach to the prevention and control of diarrhea."

The virus spreads rapidly, most likely through person-to-person contact, airborne droplets or possibly contact with contaminated toys, according to WHO.

Symptoms usually appear two to three days after infection, and include projectile vomiting and very watery diarrhea, often with fever and abdominal pain. There is no specific drug treatment for rotavirus infection. Immunity after infection is incomplete, though repeat infections tend to be less severe than the original bout.