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Novartis 'developing meningitis B vaccine'
04 Jul 2008
Clinical Research
Novartis is developing a vaccine for protection against most strains of meningitis B, it is reported.
The Checkbiotech website says Merrill Lynch & Co analyst Graham Parry has stated the shot could bring in more than $1 billion (£505 million) a year for the drug giant.
It adds Novartis biologist Rino Rappuoli's vaccine is set to begin final clinical tests and, if successful, will be the first to protect infants from "most of the 260 strains of bacteria which cause 80,000 cases of the deadly brain and spinal inflammation each year worldwide".
Hedwig Kresse, an analyst at market research company Datamonitor, is reported to say it represents a "very, very good market opportunity".
The website adds Datamonitor has said the medicine may generate $2 billion annually by 2016, plus additional earnings from catch-up immunisations.
Novartis said in June it has several "promising" vaccine candidates in its research and development portfolio which have the potential to be the first of their kind.
