A meningitis B vaccine progamme in the UK that will save lives and cost

London – Together with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the UK Department of Health has reached an agreement that will see GSK introduce and supply a new vaccine which will be a prevention measure of Meningitis commonly caused by meningococcal group B bacteria.

The agreement was reached after a long standoff for the best part of a year with the product’s previous owner Novartisover price which the government had spent months negotiating about.

According to Jeremy Hunt who is the Health minister and who made the announcement about the deal indicated that Britain would be the first country in the world to have such like nationwide vaccination program, a move that made him feel very proud. “This is a programme that will see our children protected from the devastating disease and which is potentially deadly”. Hunt exclaimed.

The agreement was reached three weeks after acquiring Bexsero, a move that the drugmaker was delighted about according to general manager of GSK in BritainNikki Yates.

MenB is a fatal disease especially in children and young babies and no parent want to lose their own children. The vaccine which has since been added to the national childhood immunization program and whose price has been reduced tremendously will see babies receive their first vaccine at two months old with a further follow up of two more doses.

“Meningitis B had been at the top of my charity’s agenda for decades and I gladly welcome the decision that will help save on lives and money” Says the chief executive of the Meningitis Research Foundation, Chris Head. However the price details still remains a confidential affair though it is expected that it will give a good return to GSK.

Meningitis is a bacterial infection to the lining that surrounds the brain and the spinal cord. It leads to deaths of close to 10 percent of all cases and being the principal single source of meningitis in Britain, it is likely to cause another 36 percent of long – term after effects.