Wyeth Ltd today launched Prevenar, its international blockbuster seven-valent paediatrics vaccine for invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in India, with a price tag of Rs.3750 plus local taxes per dose.

Company officials said the Indian price is at par with the price of the vaccine sold in other international markets, which is already available in 75 countries and more than 30-40 million children have been vaccinated with it so far. Global sales of Prevenar is expected to touch $ 2 billon in 2006.

Prevenar is the one and only pneumoccocal conjugate vaccine for infants and toddlers to protect diseases like meningitis, bacteril pneumonia, septicaemia and bacteria in blood (bacteraemia). The vaccine is administered in three doses to children below the age of two years; 6-10-14 weeks after birth and a booster dose at 12 to 15 months.

Ranga Iyer, managing director, Wyeth Ltd said the company has not set any target for selling the drug in the Indian market. When pointed out that there were reports that the drug could have a first year sales of Rs.25 crore odd in India, he said those were not estimations attributed to Wyeth Ltd.

Commenting on an earlier move to sell Prevenar through a different subsidiary floated for the purpose - to which Wyeth Ltd.'s shareholders opposed to, he said the 'issue has been sorted out' and the vaccine would be sold only through Wyeth Ltd.

According to Dr Baldev Arora, area vice president, South Asia and South East Asia, Wyeth Ayerst, the vaccine has been launched in nine Asian countries, including South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines and Hong Kong. Wyeth is planning to conduct post marketing surveillance studies in India and in other Asian markets where the vaccine has been launched, he said.

Speaking at the launch, Dr Nithin Shah, consultant paediatrician, PD Hinduja National Hospital, Mumbai and president of Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP), said India has the highest infant mortality in the world at 25 per cent and about 2.5 million children die every year in the country due to various diseases, mostly due to diseases like pneumonia and diarrhea. Pneumoccocal diseases have extensive prevalence in India. Though specific Indian studies have not been done so far, world over about ten out of one lakh children are found to be potential carriers of Pneumoccocal bacteria.

The vaccine has been included in the immunization programmes of US, Canada, Australia and UK and the product has also been approved for marketing in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Curacao, Malta, Peru, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago and Switzerland and throughout the 15 member countries of the European Union.

The launch function was also attended by Dr Mark Fletcher, director, International Scientific & Clinical Affairs, Wyeth Vaccine Research, Paris.