Karachi, October 14, 2011: As part of its corporate responsibility initiatives, Pfizer Pakistan is donating doses of its pneumococcal conjugate vaccine to health-based not-for-profit organizations.

These organizations expressed their interest to Pfizer to reach out to communities who don’t have access to this vaccine and are playing a key role in spreading awareness for pneumococcal disease. The NGOs will be receiving specified doses of the vaccine by the end of October 2011 with the aim to vaccinate underprivileged children through their health centers spread across the country. “Pfizer has been active in raising awareness levels for this disease, and now we have made this contribution which shows Pfizer’s commitment to the communities we operate in,” said Abdul Majeed, Country Manager, Pfizer Pakistan.

Access to medicine and treatments is one of Pfizer’s key goals, public service and disease awareness plays a vital role in achieving this objective but at the same time, to the underprivileged families affordability often times is a hurdle to prevention. Ahmer Ashraf, Head of Public Affairs said “Pfizer has engaged in a number of awareness activities around Invasive Pneumococcal Disease and particularly, pneumonia, in the last year. The vaccine will be administered to children from mostly the rural backgrounds, in the coming months, as per the community service plans of these NGOs.”

Many underprivileged children do not have access to the vaccine as it is not yet available in the Expanded Program for Immunization (EPI) in Pakistan, which is a government run program.

Pfizer Pakistan has historically made contributions in the area of corporate responsibility as it remains committed to doing business responsibly and hopes to continue such initiatives in the future as well.

Kuala Lampur, June 19, 2011: Ten years following the introduction of the first pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV), leading global public health experts convened in Kuala Lumpur for the Asia Pneumococcal Disease (PD) Conference organized by Pfizer in collaboration with the Malaysian Pediatric Association from June 18-19, 2011.

PD is the leading vaccine-preventable cause of death in young children worldwide. Where PCVs are not routinely used, it is not uncommon for doctors to treat infants and young children suffering with pneumococcal bacteremia, meningitis and pneumonia. It also is not uncommon for physicians to err on the side of aggressively treating any potential case of PD including undertaking multiple diagnostic tests and administering advanced antibiotics because they know the serious toll that PD could exact on their young patients.

“With the introduction of the 7-valent first generation pneumococcal conjugate vaccine a decade ago that all changed. It has exceeded all expectations, making extraordinary public health contributions in those countries where it is included as part of the national immunization program,” said Dr Bernard Fritzell, Vice-President, International Scientific & Clinical Affairs, Pfizer Vaccines.

Prevenar is widely regarded as one of public health’s greatest success stories. However, there is significant work to be done to combat the changing face of PD. Specifically, certain strains of pneumococcal bacteria not included in Prevenar, such as 19A and 6A, have increased in prevalence, and are frequently resistant to antibiotics.

Dr Fritzell added that in response to this epidemiologic shift, Pfizer developed the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, to help provide coverage against even more disease-causing serotypes. PCV-13 contains the seven serotypes included in Prevenar plus six additional serotypes, including 19A, 6A, and 3. Together, these 13 serotypes are the most prevalent invasive-disease causing serotypes threatening infants and young children worldwide today.

“In light of the PD burden in Asia coupled with the emergence of drug resistant strains, countries throughout Asia should consider inclusion of the broadest coverage pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in their national immunization schedules an urgent public health priority,” said Dato' Dr Musa Mohd Nordin, a leading Malaysian paediatrician, who chaired the press conference.
 

About Pneumococcal Disease
Pneumococcal disease is complex and describes a group of illnesses caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae and includes invasive infections such as bacteremia/sepsis and meningitis, as well as non-invasive disease including pneumonia and acute otitis media.

In Asia, approximately one child dies every two minutes from pneumococcal disease. Southeast Asia reports the highest number of PD cases (5,480,000) for children under 5 years while deaths resulting from PD amount to 187,000 for the same region.
 

Meningitis refers to an inflammation of the membranes surrounding the spinal cord and brain, known as the meninges, and is most commonly the result of a viral or bacterial infection. While viral meningitis generally clears up without specific treatment, bacterial meningitis is a far more serious infection that can cause severe brain damage and, if untreated, can lead to death in half of all reported cases.

Even with prompt, appropriate treatment, the consequences of bacterial meningitis can be extremely severe. Although, the disease is equally common in infants and adults, the mortality rates in infants are observed to be much higher. For children up to 5 years, the broadest coverage pneumococcal conjugate vaccine – PCV13 – is now available and is used widely to decrease the burden of this disease.

President of Pakistan Pediatric Association (PPA), Dr. Amir Mohammad Jogezai stresses the need for prevention of this disease, “The use of vaccines helps prevent a substantial portion of meningitis deaths in Pakistan”.

The symptoms for Meningitis mostly are sudden onset of fever, headache, stiff neck, nausea and vomiting, light sensitivity, as well as altered consciousness. Bacterial meningitis is most often caused by several types of bacteria, but the most common three are Streptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitides and Haemophilus influenzae type b.

Meningitis can best be avoided through vaccination, which is available, and has played a major role in tackling the gravity of this disease.

About World Meningitis Day
World Meningitis Day is globally observed on April 24, and is dedicated to raising disease awareness, underscoring the importance of prevention through vaccination and improving support for those dealing with the potentially devastating consequences of the disease.

Karachi – Pfizer raised serious concerns regarding the consumption of fake medicine in Pakistan, especially in the aftermath of major national catastrophes like the recent floods. A representative of Pfizer’s Asia-Pacific Global Security operations visited Pakistan this week and explained how his team works with local authorities by providing them with leads on counterfeit manufacturers.

“The manufacturing of counterfeit medicine is one of the worst crimes against humanity as it is a great threat to the patient’s health and trust. We are in Pakistan to raise awareness of this issue especially during the relief efforts,” said Scott Davis, Senior Director for Pfizer’s Global Security Asia-Pacific operations. “If a patient suspects that the medicine they have bought is a counterfeit they should call Medical department in our Karachi headquarters (9221-322-00-121).”

Pakistan has been identified by the World Health Organization as a major contributor to the production of counterfeit medicines in the world. There have been raids carried out at such facilities in Pakistan as well where various counterfeit medicines – including Viagra, which is the most counterfeited medicine in the world – have been seized. Pfizer Pakistan, through its parent company is donating 60,000 US Dollars to the UNICEF for relief work in affected areas and hopes to contribute further through employees and company funds.