MedImmune presents commitment to children’s health

MedImmune has presented data from six abstracts demonstrating the company’s work in tackling two infectious diseases for children: influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Data from the studies was presented at the 2007 European Society for Paediatric Research (ESPR) Annual Meeting.

Frank Malinosk, senior vice president, medical and scientific affairs, expressed his delight in having the opportunity to share data on MedImmune’s approved and development-stage products in paediatric medicine.

He added: “We are dedicated to advancing research of our commercialised products and our robust infectious disease pipeline to optimize children’s health.”

The ESPR was held from October 6th – 8th in Prague and featured six presentations on MedImmune’s infectious disease programmes.

Among these studies was an investigation showing that mass influenza vaccination in schools with FluMist was associated with a fall in the number of absentees.

Studies into RSV included the presentation of a phase III trial of motavizumab, a monoclonal antibody for the prevention of serious RSV disease in high-risk infants.

The study compared the safety and efficacy of Synagis (palivizumab), an approved RSV-specific humanised monoclonal antibody and motavizumab, an investigational RSV-specific monoclonal antibody, in preterm children at high-risk of serious RSV.

Last month, MedImmune saw its FluMist product given approval for expanded use in children aged two to five years old.