생물학전 대비, 새로운 천연두 백신 승인권고

 

생물학전 대비, 새로운 천연두 백신 승인권고

어캠비스의 2세대 천연두 백신, 유사시 안전하다

미국 FDA 자문위원회는 어캠비스(Acambis)의 2세대 천연두 백신을 유사시 사용해도 안전한 것으로 보인다고 결론지었다.

자문위원회는 만장일치로 어캠비스의 2세대 천연두 백신이 천연두 노출 위험이 높다고 생각되는 특별한 상황에서 사용해도 안전하다고 동의했다.

어캠비스는 이미 미국 정부에 천연두 시험백신을 약 2억회분 공급했는데 작년 정부와 재계약하는데 실패했다.

미국에서는 천연두 백신 정기접종을 1971년부터 중단했으며 세계보건기구는 1980년 천연두가 지구상에서 절멸했다고 발표한 바 있다.

그러나 2001년 9월 11일 미국 테러 발생 이후 천연두 및 기타 바이러스가 생물학적 무기로 사용될 가능성이 제기되면서 이에 대한 대비책이 논의되어왔다.

구세대 천연두 백신인 ＇드라이백스(Dryvax)＇는 생산이 중단됐으며 현재 이미 생산된 분량만 남아있는 상태다.

데일리팜 윤의경 기자 (ekyeun@dreamdrug.com)
기사 입력 시간 : 2007-05-19 04:51:33

 

 

FDA committee votes yes for new smallpox vaccine

　

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee voted unanimously on Thursday that Acambis＇ vaccine is safe enough to use in special situations where people are deemed at high risk of smallpox exposure, according to media reports.(File Photo)

    BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhuanet) -- A U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee voted unanimously on Thursday that Acambis＇ vaccine is safe enough to use in special situations where people are deemed at high risk of smallpox exposure, according to media reports.

    UK-based Acambis, with U.S. offices in Cambridge, Mass., has been making the vaccine for a U.S. strategic stockpile since being awarded a contract in late 2001 amid concerns of a bio-terrorism attack using the smallpox virus.

    The vaccine is considered a second-generation vaccine and is made using cell-culture lines. It is derived from Dryvax, an older vaccine made by Wyeth.

    Future U.S. contracts, however, partly hinge on FDA approval of the vaccine, which is known as ACAM2000.

    The U.S. ended routine vaccination against smallpox in 1971 and world health authorities declared the disease official eradicated from the wild in 1980. But after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, concern arose that smallpox and other infections could be engineered as weapons. That led to the stockpiling of certain vaccines in case they ever are needed -- and to vaccinate some military personnel and health care workers.

    The nation＇s old smallpox vaccine, called Dryvax, is no longer made, although there are leftover supplies.

    Smallpox is a contagious and sometimes fatal disease marked by fever and a progressive skin rash. The majority of patients with smallpox recover, but death may occur in up to 30 percent of cases. Many smallpox survivors have permanent scars over large areas of their body.

    (Agencies)