Sanofi Pasteur vaccine chosen for Russia immunisations

Sanofi Pasteur has announced that its inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) has been chosen by Russia for an immunisation programme.

Planned to be used for primary immunisation of all infants, the doses are set to be provided by MP Chumakov Institute of Poliomyelitis and Virus Encephadlitides.

The vaccination, part of the country’s Project Health, has seen the delivery of four million doses to date, meaning that a complete birth cohort – approximately 1.3 million babies – can receive the recommended doses of IPV.

Sergey Drosdov, senior scientific advisor at the Chumakov Institute, said: “The Chumakov Institute was the first to produce oral polio vaccine which was instrumental in eradicating poliomyelitis in Russia.”

He added: “Today, IPV is the vaccine of choice for post-eradication polio immunisation programmes.”

Founded in 1994 as a joint venture between Sanofi Pasteur and Merck, Sanofi Pasteur MSD produces medical products for the treatment of children, adolescents, adults and the elderly.

Present in 19 countries – including the UK, France, Spain, Portugal and Italy – the company has developed vaccines for acute infant diarrhoea (rotavirus), herpes zoster & post-herpetic neuralgia, cervical cancer (human papilloma virus) and invasive meningococcal infections (A, C, Y, W135), among others.