‘It’s a game-changer’: New drug to protect babies from RSV approved
Global News
Health Canada has approved a new antibody drug to help protect babies from serious illness caused by respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.
Health Canada has approved a new antibody drug to help protect babies from serious illness caused by respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.
Nirsevimab, also known by its brand name Beyfortus, was authorized on April 19. It was developed by AstraZeneca and Sanofi.
Nirsevimab is “a monoclonal antibody to prevent serious lower respiratory tract disease caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in newborns and infants during their first RSV season,” Health Canada spokesman Mark Johnson said in an email to The Canadian Press on Friday.
The drug, which is given by injection, is also authorized for children up to two years of age if they are at risk of serious infection, he said.
Monoclonal antibodies are made in a laboratory to mimic natural antibodies to prevent or treat diseases.
Nirsevimab attaches to a protein on the surface of the virus and hinders its ability to enter the body’s cells, especially those in the lungs, according to the European Medicines Agency, a regulatory body that last fall approved the drug for use in the European Union.
Canada already offers the monoclonal antibody palivizumab — also known by the brand name Synagis — to premature babies because they are more vulnerable to serious illness from RSV. The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) does not recommend palivizumab for healthy babies.
Palivizumab has to be injected about once a month — up to four times — during RSV season to remain effective. Nirsevimab requires only one dose that lasts the entire RSV season.
Opponents of coal mining in the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains have some sharp criticism for Alberta's UCP government after being told to resubmit their citizens petition.
Three children in Ontario have died from influenza A-related complications since the start of December, health officials said Monday.
The company that operates the Trans Mountain pipeline has paid a $196,000 fine for environmental lapses along its B.C. pipeline route in the aftermath of a massive Jan. 2024 storm.
Alberta's provincial government has announced the creation of three new all-season resort areas that it claims could generate thousands of jobs and billions in economic benefits.
Corb Lund says he's seeking the intervention as new coal mines could threaten land and water on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains and affect the Prairies downstream.
Officers had recently captured four grizzly bears, but forensic results came back to confirm that none of the bears, an adult female and three young, were linked to the attack.
The research recommends occipital nerve blocks should be offered in emergency rooms to treat acute migraine attacks.
A federal vaccine advisory committee voted on Friday to end the longstanding recommendation that all U.S. babies get the hepatitis B vaccine on the day they’re born.
Darlene Hensch, who once struggled with unexplained infertility, is now expecting quadruplets and preparing for a high-risk delivery and life-changing journey.
Negotiations that could have led to coverage for weight-loss drug Wegovy under Canadian public health plans are not moving forward.
They've been married for 55 years, but for most of that time, something has been missing from Janet and Robert Cockwill's life, until their grandson made a remarkable discovery.
NDP interim leader Don Davies said the government's response to a commissioned report on the program was 'shockingly dismissive,' and the health minister has not committed to act.
The Ford government is routinely making decisions before environmental consultations have concluded and under-resourcing public education about those consultations, the AG found.