Game-changing potential for Abrysvo and Beyfortus in pediatric RSV sector

US pharma giant Pfizer’s (NYSE: PFE) respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine Abrysvo (RSVpreF) earlier this month received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorization for the prevention of lower respiratory tract disease (LRTD) and severe LRTD caused by RSV in infants from birth up to six months of age by active immunization of pregnant individuals at 32-36 weeks gestation.

Also, a few weeks ago, UK major AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) and French partner Sanofi’s (Euronext: SAN) monoclonal antibody (MAb) Beyfortus (nirsevimab) were granted FDA approval for the prevention of RSV LRTD in babies and toddlers. These therapies have the potential to considerably reduce the burden of RSV infection among young children ahead of the 2023/2024 season, says data and analytics company GlobalData.

The FDA nod for Abrysvo marks the first regulatory approval for a maternal RSV vaccine anywhere in the world. RSV is a viral respiratory illness that is extremely common in young children. GlobalData epidemiologists project seroprevalence among two-year-old children in the USA to be around 94% in 2023, amounting to an affected population of 3.9 million and indicating that the vast majority of children are infected with the virus in the first two years of life.