27th Jun 2024 09:37
(Alliance News) - GSK PLC shares declined on Thursday, with the market perceiving the latest US recommendation for respiratory syncytial virus jabs as a blow for the drugmaker.
GSK traded 4.4% lower at 1,530.00 pence each in London on Thursday morning.
For the upcoming virus season, it has been in the US that everyone aged 75 and older receive a jab. People aged between 60 and 74 are recommended to receive one if they have certain chronic medical conditions, such as lung or heart disease.
There was no recommendation for adults aged under 60, however.
"The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, who advises how the US CDC recommends vaccines in the US has updated its recommendation for RSV vaccines, including GSK’s recently launched Arexvy. We anticipate this update will broadly be perceived as a narrowing from its previous recommendation and reigns in the scope for some longer-term Arexvy upgrades potentially materialising in H2 2024," analysts at Shore Capital Markets commented.
"The ACIP’s previous recommendation was for older adults [over 60 years] using shared clinical decision-making, but following feedback from the medical community, shared clinical decision-making has been removed."
A vote by the ACIP committee on at risk 50 to 59 year-olds has been postponed.
The US Food & Drug Administration earlier this month had expanded the age indication for GSK's Arexvy RSV jab to adults aged 50-59 at increased risk.
Investment bank Jefferies said the recommendations are likely to cut the addressable US market for Arexvy for the 2024-25 season, but further ahead, it is "confident" take-up will expand.
Earlier this week, the UK picked Pfizer Inc's Abrysvo for its RSV jab rollout. The vaccine is expected to be available to order from early August.
Shore Capital Markets added: "Whilst its clearly disappointing that GSK (and Arexvy) has not to be selected for this, we would highlight that pricing has not been disclosed and this is likely the key driver behind this decision-making process. In the global context, the UK is relatively small component, but this will clearly still be viewed as a missed opportunity and highlights that Pfizer can still be competitive."
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News editor
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