The US FDA has cleared Sanofi Pasteur's supplemental biologics license application (sBLA) licensing four-strain influenza vaccine, Fluzone Quadrivalent, for broad age range of children and adults.
As the first and only four-strain influenza vaccine option for patients as young as six months of age, Fluzone Quadrivalent vaccine is the newest addition to the Fluzone family of influenza vaccines.
Available for intramuscular administration in the US for the 2013-2014 influenza season, the four-strain vaccine provides protection against two A and two B influenza strains.
Sanofi Pasteur US Scientific and Medical Affairs vice president David Greenberg said Fluzone Quadrivalent vaccine is introduced as a new addition to the company's Fluzone family of specialized influenza vaccines.
"Protection against the type B flu strain may be an especially important factor that healthcare providers consider when immunizing children since influenza B causes a substantial number of illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths in the pediatric population," Greenberg added.
The 2013 influenza season will be the first to offer quadrivalent influenza vaccines in prefilled syringes and single-dose vials in the US.
