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Geneva, 10th September 2010 - The AMC Secretariat at the GAVI Alliance is pleased to announce that the Independent Assessment Committee of the Advance Market Commitment (AMC) for pneumococcal disease has approved Pfizer's pneumococcal vaccine Prevenar 13, as eligible for purchase pursuant to the AMC terms and conditions.
The Pfizer vaccine
The Pfizer vaccine is the second pneumococcal vaccine to be approved by the committee and it could be delivered to the GAVI eligible countries as early as this year. UNICEF is the procurement agency for the AMC and will work with countries to determine the introduction dates.
In March 2010, Pfizer committed to supply as many as 300 million doses of its vaccine to GAVI countries by 2023. In combination with a commitment from GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) 300 million doses for its pneumococcal vaccine Synflorix, millions of children in the world's poorest countries will receive life-saving vaccines they otherwise would not have access to.
MDGs
The introduction of the pneumococcal vaccine in developing countries is a major part of GAVI's ambition to further reduce child mortality rates globally and help advance the Millennium Development Goals. These 600 million doses are the foundation of GAVI's effort to immunise children against the pneumococcal disease, the number one vaccine-preventable cause of death in children under five years of age.
Seventy percent of the AMC funds remain available to incentivise additional manufacturers to develop and manufacture pneumococcal vaccines. Therefore, other companies can still make offers under the AMC as new calls for supply offers are issued. Panacea Biotec Ltd, and the Serum Institute of India Ltd. have already registered to the programme and other companies have expressed interest.
Widespread coverage
In 2007, WHO recommended the introduction of pneumococcal vaccines into all national immunisation programmes, particularly in countries with high child mortality. Wide spread coverage of the pneumococcal vaccines in developing countries over the next five years is one of GAVI's priorities and is crucial in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goal 4 by 2015.