Chinese approval for Pfizer's Prevenar 13 in infants and children

US pharma giant Pfizer’s (NYSE: PFE) Chinese subsidiary has received approval from the Chinese Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) to market its pneumococcal 13-valent conjugate vaccine, Prevenar 13, in China.

The approval is for active immunization for the prevention of invasive diseases (including bacteremic pneumonia, meningitis, septicemia, and bacteremia) caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. Pneumoniae) serotypes 1, 3, 4, 5, 6A, 6B, 7F, 9V, 14, 18C, 19A, 19F, and 23F in infants and children aged six weeks to 15 months. S. pneumoniae is the most common cause of invasive disease as well as pneumonia and upper respiratory tract infections.

Pneumococcal disease is a leading cause of vaccine-preventable deaths globally in children under five years old. In China alone, around 30 thousand children in this age group die due to pneumococcal diseases every year.