MHRA backs Sanofi Pasteur MSD's quadrivalent flu vaccine

Sanofi Pasteur MSD UK says that the UK’S Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has approved its quadrivalent influenza vaccine(split virion, inactivated),which contains two A strains (A/H1N1 and A/H3N2) and two B strains (B/Victoria and B/Yamagata) of the influenza virus.

The vaccine is licensed for use from 36 months of age. This is the newest addition to the longstanding Sanofi Pasteur MSD family of influenza vaccines. The joint venture between France’s Sanofi (Euronext: SAN) and US pharma giant Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) created in 1994 is due to be dissolved, the partners announced in March.

The majority of seasonal influenza vaccines in the UK are currently trivalent,  meaning that they help protect against three strains of the influenza vaccine; two A strains and a single B strain. However, the two distinct influenza B lineages (B/Victoria and B/Yamagata) now co-circulate worldwide in varying and unpredictable proportions.  In the UK’s 2015-2016 flu season, the influenza B/Yamagata-lineage (antigenically similar to B/Phuket/3073/2013) was the component of both trivalent and quadrivalent vaccines for the Northern Hemisphere. However of the 462 influenza B cases that were detected, 94% (432 cases) belonged to the B/Victoria lineage (antigenically similar to B/Brisbane/60/2008). This lineage was only included in quadrivalent formulations and not included in the trivalent vaccines recommended by the World Health Organization.