- In milestone, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- In a first, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- Bangladeshi Hindus shrug off attack worries to celebrate festival
- Ubisoft fears assassin's hit over falling sales
- Vietnam, China hold talks on calming South China Sea tensions
- SpaceX will try to 'catch' giant Starship rocket shortly before landing
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgery: reports
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgey: reports
- 'Little Gregory' murder haunts France 40 years on
- Tariffs, tax cuts, energy: What is in Trump's economic plan?
- Amazon wants to be everything to everyone
- Jewish school in Canada hit by gunfire for second time
- With medical report Harris seeks to play health card against Trump
- China-EU EV tariff talks in Brussels end with 'major differences': Beijing
- Buried Nazi past haunts Athens on liberation anniversary
- Harris to release medical report confirming fitness for presidency: campaign
- Nobel prize a timely reminder, Hiroshima locals say
- China offers $325 bn in fiscal stimulus for ailing economy
- Small Quebec company dominates one part of NHL hockey: jerseys
- Boeing to cut 10% of workforce as it sees big Q3 loss
- Want to film in Paris? No sexism allowed
- US, European markets rise as investors weigh rates, earnings
- In Colombia, children trade plastic waste for school supplies
- JPMorgan Chase profits top estimates, bank sees 'resilient' US economy
- Little progress at key meet ahead of COP29 climate summit
- 'Party atmosphere': Skygazers treated to another aurora show
- Kyrgyzstan opens rare probe into glacier destruction
- European Mediterranean states discuss Middle East, migration
- Thunberg leads pro-Palestinian, climate protest in Milan
- Stock markets diverge before China weekend briefing
- EU questions shopping app Temu over illegal products risk
- Han Kang's books sell out in South Korea after Nobel win
- Shanghai markets sink ahead of briefing on mixed day for Asia
- Investors, analysts eye bigger China stimulus at Saturday briefing
- Musk unveils robotaxi, pledges it 'before 2027'
- At least 11 dead in Florida but Hurricane Milton not as bad as feared
- Asian markets mixed after Wall St drop, Shanghai dips before briefing
- Automaker Stellantis says CEO will retire in 2026
- Musk's promised robotaxi unveil delayed
- On US coast, wind power foes embrace 'Save the Whales' argument
- At least 10 dead in Florida after Hurricane Milton spawns tornadoes
- Internet Archive reels from 'catastrophic' cyberattack, data breach
- Wall Street stocks retreat from records on US inflation data
- Israel strikes central Beirut, killing 22
- Solar storm could impact US hurricane recovery efforts: agency
- Delta eyes Election Day travel pullback as profits climb
- Florida battered by hurricane, floods but spared 'worst-case scenario'
- UK's William and Kate in first joint public engagement since cancer treatment
- Over 200 women in legal talks with Harrods over Fayed abuse claims
- A very stiff breeze: BBC says sorry for 20,000 kph wind forecast
Positive trial results for RSV infant treatment: Sanofi
French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi announced trial results on Friday that showed its preventative treatment for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) reduced the rate of babies being hospitalised by more than 80 percent.
The virus infects around nine out of 10 children by the age of two and is the most common cause of bronchiolitis, a respiratory infection that is normally mild but in some cases can make infants seriously ill.
Sanofi and British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca, which jointly developed the drug nirsevimab, marketed as Beyfortus, say it is the first treatment to prevent severe illness from RSV in infants.
The phase three trial used real-world data from the 2022-2023 RSV season and involved more than 8,000 infants under 12 months across France, Germany and the UK, Sanofi said in a statement.
The results showed an 83 percent reduction in hospitalisations for infants with RSV-related illnesses who received a single dose of nirsevimab, compared to a control group who did not receive the treatment.
The results suggest that "the overall burden on healthcare systems could be reduced significantly if all infants receive nirsevimab," Sanofi said.
Global medical costs worldwide were estimated to be 4.8 billion euros ($5.2 billion) in 2017, it added.
While not a vaccine, nirsevimab is a monoclonal antibody treatment that has a similar aim: to give protection against RSV with a single injection.
More attention has been paid to RSV since a combination of the virus, Covid-19 and influenza dubbed a "tripledemic" put pressure on hospitals in several countries during the Northern Hemisphere's last winter.
Peter Openshaw, a specialist in lung immunology at Imperial College London, pointed out that the trial data was collected when RSV was rebounding after a dip in cases during Covid lockdowns.
The data "adds to the evidence that use of long-acting monoclonal antibody may prevent moderate to severe RSV disease after a convenient single dose," he said, adding that further studies were needed for older children.
"The cost of nirsevimab will be a critical determinant of how widespread its use can be," Openshaw said.
The drug has already been approved in the European Union, the UK and Canada, and an application in the United States is under review.
Several major pharmaceutical firms have developed vaccines for RSV in adults, and are currently racing to get them approved.
Last week, the US became the first country to approve an RSV vaccine, giving the greenlight to GSK's Arexvy for adults aged 60 or older.
O.Hansen--CPN