A preventive treatment for bronchiolitis intended for newborns, Beyfortus (Sanofi / AstraZeneca), will be available “from mid-September” in health establishments and, on order, in pharmacies, indicated this Friday, August 25, the Ministry of Health in a document sent to health professionals.
This monoclonal antibody (nirsevimab) is one of the options against respiratory syncytial virus, the main cause of bronchiolitis, in infants during their first season of exposure to RSV.
“Available from mid-September in health establishments and on order in community pharmacies, nirsevimab may be prescribed to all infants born from February 6, 2023 in mainland France”, is it specified in the document (DGS Urgent) from the Ministry. For Overseas France, the “specificities […] are under investigation”.
30% of infants affected
The single injection, in the muscle, can be done in some cases at birth. For infants born from September 15, it is recommended that they be “immunized before leaving the maternity ward”, the ministry told caregivers. The antibody can also be administered in the city, in general practice, pediatrics, health centers, etc. In this case, it will require “a prescription by the doctor who follows the child”, according to the document. “The parents will then go to the community pharmacy to order and then collect the medicine which will be made available by the State, without invoicing the families”.
In France, it is estimated that bronchiolitis affects nearly 30% of infants under two years of age each winter, i.e. approximately 480,000 cases per year. And 2-3% of infants under the age of one are hospitalized for severe bronchiolitis.
“A partial response to the medical need”
The bronchiolitis epidemic in France last winter reached an unprecedented level for more than ten years: it required more than 26,000 hospitalizations after a visit to the emergency room in children under two years old, according to numbers from the emergency services.
Alongside an information campaign on bronchiolitis aimed at parents, the deployment of a preventive treatment against bronchiolitis will constitute “one of the major challenges of the new school year”, declared the Minister of Health Aurélien Rousseau at the beginning of August. the day after the green light from the High Health Authority for reimbursement.
Beyfortus provides “a partial response to the medical need” because there is not yet data to “support a possible impact” on the duration of hospitalization, transfer to intensive care or intensive care, mortality, according to the HAS.
In the race for vaccines, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) authorized for the first time, at the end of July, a vaccine intended to protect both people aged 60 and over, and infants against the respiratory virus RSV . Called Abrysvo and developed by Pfizer, it is “the first RSV vaccine indicated for passive immunization of infants from birth to 6 months after the vaccine is given to the mother during pregnancy,” the European Agency said. drugs (EMA). The European Commission has yet to decide on its marketing authorization in Europe.