U.S. Committee Approves GlaxoSmithKline's Shingles Vaccine

GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK.LN) on Wednesday said that a U.S. advisory committee has recommended its Shingrix product as the preferred vaccine to prevent shingles in adults aged 50 and over.

The FTSE 100-listed pharmaceutical said that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention voted in favor of the use of Shingrix in adults who have already received rival Merck & Co's (MRK) Zostavax vaccine and that Shingrix is the preferred choice over Zostavax.

The new recommendations mean up to 62 million U.S. adults can be immunized, with about 42 million aged 50 to 59 years old and 20 million who have previously been vaccinated against shingles, GSK said.

The company added that the approval was based on a Phase III clinical trial involving 38,000 adults to evaluate the vaccine's efficacy, safety and immunogenicity.

Shares in GSK closed 0.86 pence, or 5.1%, lower at 16.03 pence.

Write to Maryam Cockar at maryam.cockar@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 25, 2017 13:34 ET (17:34 GMT)