Vaccines, treatments for syncytial virus have blockbuster potential - Cantor

Aridis Pharmaceuticals

06/10/2021 12:02

** Vaccines and treatments for respiratory syncytial virus
(RSV), a cause of pneumonia in toddlers and the elderly, have
the potential to be blockbuster products, brokerage Cantor
Fitzgerald says
    ** There is a large unmet medical need for an effective
vaccine that can help protect vulnerable populations against
this highly-contagious RSV, which is one of the major causes of
respiratory tract infections in infants, young children, and
older or immunocompromised adults - brokerage
    ** Cantor says only Swedish Orphan Biovitrum's monoclonal
antibody for RSV called Synagis has been approved for preventing
infection in children under 2 years that are at high risk and
the market opportunity in preventative RSV for infants,
maternal, and older adults is meaningfully larger 
    ** Companies with vaccines and treatments in development for
RSV include GlaxoSmithKline Plc  GSK.L , Pfizer  PFE.N , Johnson
& Johnson  JNJ.N  and Merck  MRK.N  
    ** Brokerage says MRK's antibody candidate, MK-1654, is an
improvement over Synagis, which requires multiple dosing during
each RSV season
    ** Older adults are among the populations at the highest
risk of developing RSV, affecting more than 64 mln people each
year worldwide and JNJ's Ad26.RSV.preF could be first-in-class
and best-in-class for older adults - Cantor

 (Reporting by Manojna Maddipatla in Bengaluru)
 ((manojna.kalyani@thomsonreuters.com; +91  8061822700;))