The USFDA has just approved GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK)’s Twinrix® [Hepatitis A Vaccine (Inactivated) and Hepatitis B (Recombinant) Vaccine] for an accelerated dosing schedule: three doses given within three weeks followed by a booster dose at 12 months (0, 7, 21-30 days + booster dose at 12 months).
Twinrix® (a pdf file) is the only hepatitis A and hepatitis B combination vaccine available in the United States which was first approved for adults over age 18 years by the FDA in May 2001 on a 0, 1, 6-month dosing schedule.
According to travel medicine specialist Bradley A. Connor, M.D., Past President, International Society of Travel Medicine and a principal study investigator:
Find more details from the press release.“Twinrix's new accelerated dosing schedule offers an option that could benefit individuals such as those preparing to travel internationally to high-risk areas.
It may also benefit emergency first care responders, especially those deploying to disaster areas overseas, as well as others at risk for hepatitis, such as people with sexually transmitted diseases and those who are HIV positive."
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