Contacts: Eileen Quinn, 202.631.9294, email@example.com; Deborah
Phillips, 206.788.2449, firstname.lastname@example.org Vaccine
has the potential to save thousands of lives in poor countries
Gaithersburg, MD, February 20, 2008—The US Advisory Committee on
Vaccines and Related Biological Products issued a positive
recommendation today on the use of rotavirus vaccines,
potentially bringing greater protection to children in the
United States from this common and sometimes fatal cause of
severe diarrhea. After reviewing data from clinical trials on
the safety and efficacy of Rotarix®, manufactured by
GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals (GSK), the committee recommended
that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approve the
company’s application for licensure. The FDA should make its
ultimate decision on Rotarix® licensure in the United States
within the coming weeks. Another rotavirus vaccine, RotaTeq®
manufactured by Merck & Co., Inc., received FDA approval in
2006. Globally, rotavirus accounts for more than 500,000