MedImmune FluMist Gets FDA Approval

Written by Staff Writer

Tuesday, 09 January 2007

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MedImmune Inc has said that its new nasal spray flu vaccine has been approved by the US Food and Drugs Administration.

Popularly known as FluMist, the new formulation can be stored in a refrigerated state instead of the current practice of freezing the vaccine. The company added that the vaccine could be used in places such as schools, pharmacies and grocery stores very easily.

The company said that FluMist could be administered to people in an age group of 5-49 years. It added that testing was going on to make it admissible to children as young as 1 year old. The FDA had earlier approved the first version of FluMist in 2003.

Commenting on the price of the vaccine, the company said that it would cost around $16 to $20 per dose, the same as the previous version. Frank Malinoski, MedImmune's senior vice president of medical and scientific affairs, said, "Large and well-controlled clinical trials have shown FluMist to be an effective and well-tolerated option to help prevent influenza disease in healthy children and adults. We are confident that the approval of our refrigerated formulation for FluMist will encourage more healthcare providers to offer FluMist to their customers and patients."

He added that with the vaccine's ability to be stored in a refrigerated state instead of frozen will help it be administered or stored conveniently in schools and pharmacies. "The new formulation can be conveniently stored in a standard refrigerator rather than frozen, as previously required. We recognize that the frozen storage presented difficulties for some physician practices as well as for providers who administer vaccine in places like schools, pharmacies and grocery stores, and we are confident that this improvement will enhance access to this important vaccine," he said.

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