GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (GSK) has launched Shingrix (zoster vaccine recombinant, adjuvanted) in India, for the prevention of shingles (herpes zoster) and post-herpetic neuralgia in adults aged 50 years and above.
Shingrix is a non-live, recombinant subunit vaccine to be given intramuscularly in two doses. Shingles are caused by the reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus (VZV), the same virus that causes chickenpox.
A seroprevalence study in Indian subjects showed that by the age of 40 years more than 90 per cent had this virus in their body and were vulnerable to shingles. Shingles cause a painful rash. In all cases, the rash disappears, but in a large number of cases, the pain persists for months or years. This pain is known as post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN).
Bhushan Akshikar, MD, GSK says,
