Sanofi Pasteur welcomes GAVI Alliance pledge on IPV immunisation

Sanofi Pasteur has responded positively to the recent pledge of support by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI Alliance) for inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) immunisation projects.

The global health partnership has announced support of the introduction of IPV in routine immunisation in the world's 73 poorest countries, paving the way for these therapies to be used in polio immunisation programmes worldwide.

Additionally, the GAVI Board has outlined plans to enlarge the Alliance's vaccine portfolio, with further support for yellow fever vaccination in endemic regions, while it will also contribute to a global cholera vaccine stockpile for use in epidemic and endemic settings.

As a leading supplier of IPV, Sanofi Pasteur believes these measures will beneficial to global health. It has expanded its production capacity for IPV and will be able to produce up to 300 million doses per year.

Olivier Charmeil, president and chief executive officer of Sanofi Pasteur, said: "GAVI Alliance's decision will give every newborn in the world access to IPV. This is a great signal and opens the final stage of the eradication of polio."

This comes after the company agreed a new collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation last month to research new and more effective methods of creating innovative vaccines.