Wyeth's 7-valent Vaccine for Pneumococcal Disease Registered in Russia

Maidenhead, England (ots/PRNewswire) -

- Prevenar Vaccine Helps Protect Against Leading
Vaccine-Preventable Cause of Death in Young Children Worldwide

Wyeth announced today that its 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate
vaccine, Prevenar(TM) (Pneumococcal saccharide conjugated vaccine,
Adsorbed), has been registered by the Russian Ministry of Health and
Social Development (Roszdravnadzor) and is expected to be
commercially available later this year. Prevenar (also referred to as
PCV7), the global standard in pneumococcal disease prevention for
infants and young children, helps protect against the seven
pneumococcal serotypes contained in the vaccine that cause the
majority of pneumococcal disease worldwide.

"This important decision by Roszdravnadzor to register Prevenar
is an important step forward in helping to protect the more than 1.5
million Russian children born every year from the potentially serious
consequences of pneumococcal disease," says Dr. E. David McIntosh,
paediatrician and Wyeth's Medical Director for Infectious Disease and
Vaccines in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. "Given the public
health benefits that have been documented where Prevenar is routinely
used, Wyeth looks forward to engaging in discussions with the
Ministry of Health with a view toward including Prevenar in the
national childhood immunisation schedule in Russia."

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), pneumococcal
disease causes up to 1 million deaths in children each year and is
the leading vaccine-preventable cause of death in children younger
than five years of age worldwide.

The WHO recommends priority inclusion of PCV7 in national
childhood immunisation programs worldwide due to the significant
burden of pneumococcal disease and demonstrated vaccine efficacy.

Following inclusion of Prevenar into the routine U.S. paediatric
immunization schedule, there has been a 98 percent (95% CI: 97-99)
reduction in vaccine-type pneumococcal disease among infants and
toddlers younger than 5 years of age compared with a prelicensure
baseline. In addition, incidence of disease caused by the seven
conjugate vaccine serotypes declined 55 percent (95% CI: 51-58) among
adults 50 years of age and older, an unvaccinated group.

Prevenar is now available in more than 90 countries around the
world, and 34 of those countries include Prevenar in their national
childhood immunisation programme.

NOTES TO EDITORS

Pneumococcal Disease

Pneumococcal disease affects both children and adults and is a
leading cause of illness and death worldwide. Pneumococcal disease is
caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae and describes a
group of illnesses, including invasive infections, such as
bacteremia/sepsis and meningitis, as well as pneumonia and otitis
media.

Wyeth

Wyeth is one of the world's largest research-driven
pharmaceutical and health care products companies. It is a leader in
the discovery, development, manufacturing and marketing of
pharmaceuticals, vaccines, biotechnology products, nutritionals and
non-prescription medicines that improve the quality of life for
people worldwide. The Company's major divisions include Wyeth
Pharmaceuticals, Wyeth Consumer Healthcare and Fort Dodge Animal
Health.

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ots Originaltext: Wyeth Pharmaceuticals
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
Media Contacts: Gill Markham, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals,
+44(0)1628-692536, markhagl@wyeth.com; Joanne Wunder, OgilvyHealthPR,
+44(0)207-108-6076, joanne.wunder@ohpr.com