2023-12-29 20:13:48
A new solution is arriving in Switzerland to protect infants from the complications of bronchiolitis. Swissmedic authorized on Thursday the deployment of Beyfortus, a preventive drug already used in France for three months and eagerly awaited in Switzerland, where it will be available next winter.
Beyfortus is a medicine intended to prevent lower respiratory diseases caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). In newborns and young children, this virus can cause pneumonia or bronchiolitis.
This medicine contains the monoclonal antibody nirsevimab and is administered intramuscularly in a single dose, Swissmedic, the Swiss Institute of Medicines, said on Thursday. The authorization holder is Sanofi-Aventis (Switzerland).
“The advantage of this drug is that we only need one injection to cover the main period of the disease, from October to March. The other antibody that we currently have available, Palivizumab, requires five injections, once a month”, explains Alessandro Diana, vaccinologist at Infovac and pediatrician at the Clinique des Grangettes in Geneva, Friday in the 7:30 p.m. of the RTS.
Overload of pediatric services
Waves of bronchiolitis often overload pediatric services during the winter. There are approximately one thousand emergency admissions each year. But thanks to the authorization of Beyfortus, the situation could improve from fall 2024.
“We expect a drop in the number of consultations in emergency departments, but also a reduction in the load in terms of hospitalized patients,” explains Arnaud L’Huillier, head of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Unit at the Geneva University Hospitals (HUG).
>> On the subject: Bronchiolitis puts Swiss hospitals under pressure
According to data obtained in Galicia (Spain), hospitalizations dropped drastically after more than 80% of newborns received the drug, reports Arnaud L’Huillier.
Furthermore, several other preventive drugs are also available, in addition to that of Sanofi/AstraZeneca, which has just been authorized by Switzerland.
Waiting for instructions for use
The Swiss authorities have yet to position themselves on the exact conditions of the administration of Beyfortus. “Will it only be recommended for newborns most at risk of severe bronchiolitis, such as premature babies?” asks Arnaud L’Huillier.
For infectious disease specialist Alessandro Diana, it would be relevant to administer Beyfortus to all newborns, as France already does, because there are “some who are not premature and who do not have lung disease, but which can cause a complication with RSV”, even if the first indication would be in babies with a very high risk, he specifies.
Contacted by RTS, the Federal Office of Public Health ensures that information on the recommendation, as well as the price set for the drug, should be available by next fall.
>> See also the interview with infectious disease specialist Alessandro Diana in the 7:30 p.m.: Alessandro Diana, pediatrician and infectious disease specialist, judges the new medication against bronchiolitis necessary and relevant for infants / 7:30 p.m. / 2 min. / today at 7:30 p.m.
Radio and TV subject: Mehdi Piccand and Olivier Dessibourg
Web adaptation: Raphaël Dubois
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