Nirsevamab, a drug developed to combat Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) infections in newborns, is gaining attention in the medical community. Designed for injection, the drug aims to provide RSV protection to all newborns entering their first RSV season and high-risk children entering their second season. Professor Mary Caserta, of Pediatrics and Infectious Diseases at the University of Rochester, asserts that prevention is the optimal strategy for handling this infection.
Caserta explains that a majority of the children hospitalized due to RSV are healthy, term babies under six months. She suggests that the best approach to mitigating severe disease and hospitalizations caused by RSV is to protect all newborns, not just high-risk ones. The drug, an antibody against the virus, is designed to be administered once and should provide protection for approximately five months.
While the FDA has not identified any safety concerns with Nirsevamab in its review, monitoring will continue as the drug becomes available. Caserta also revealed a maternal vaccine under evaluation by the FDA, aimed at immunizing pregnant women to safeguard newborns. Healthcare professionals are now awaiting the CDC’s guidance on how to best use the product.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to [email protected].