Sanofi Pasteur MSD participates in health technology assessment pilot

Sanofi Pasteur MSD has successfully participated in a pilot scheme testing a new Rapid Relative Effectiveness Assessment method for health technologies in Europe.

The pilot is being run by a unit within the European Network for Health Technology, with Sanofi Pasteur MSD being the first vaccine company to participate in the trial.

It submitted its new shingles vaccine Zostavax as a candidate for review by the network in April 2013, with the process being completed in four months, meaning data can now be shared with all EU member states to help facilitate local assessments.

The review concluded that Zostavax is effective in reducing the frequency of new shingles cases and its complications, as well as having a good safety profile.

Andrea Rappagliosi, vice-president for market access, health policy and medical affairs at Sanofi Pasteur MSD, said: "Agreeing to run the first Rapid Relative Effectiveness pilot on a vaccine addressing an unmet medical need is another tangible sign of the increasing attention that European authorities give to prevention."

This comes after the firm was named as an official partner to the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing last month.