GlaxoSmithKline Pharma launches vaccine for prevention of shingles

Vaccination is the only effective preventive option. Citing seroprevalence study in Indian subjects, the company said by the age of 40 years more than 90 per cent had this virus in their body and were vulnerable to shingles.The risk of developing post-herpetic neuralgia is 30 per cent higher and the pain is more debilitating in adults above 50 years of age, the statement said.

GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Ltd on Monday announced the launch of its vaccine for prevention of shingles (herpes zoster) and post-herpetic neuralgia in adults aged 50 years and above.

The vaccine, Shingrix, can provide at least 10 years of protection against shingles, which is caused by the reactivation of the varicella zoster virus (VZV), the same virus that causes chickenpox, the company said in a statement.

It is to be given intramuscularly in two doses. The vaccine has proven efficacy of more than 90 per cent against shingles, it added.

Shingrix was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for the prevention of shingles in adults 50 years of age or older in 2017, while the European Commission approved it in 2018, the company said.

GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Ltd Managing Director Bhushan Akshikar said Shingrix is aimed ''to protect India's 260 million adults above 50 years of age from shingles and its complications''.

Further, he said, ''Existing treatment options may not give complete relief from this pain. Vaccination is the only effective preventive option.'' Citing seroprevalence study in Indian subjects, the company said by the age of 40 years more than 90 per cent had this virus in their body and were vulnerable to shingles.

''The risk of developing post-herpetic neuralgia is 30 per cent higher and the pain is more debilitating in adults above 50 years of age,'' the statement said.

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