GSK announced that Arexvy has been approved by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) of Singapore for active immunisation for the prevention of lower respiratory tract disease caused by respiratory syncytial virus in individuals 60 years of age and older. The first respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine in the world and the first RSV vaccine approved in the country, Arexvy (recombinant, AS01E adjuvanted) further strengthens the company's portfolio of vaccines aimed to protect older adults in Singapore from a variety of infectious diseases. In 2019, RSV infection accounted for an estimated 5.2 million cases of acute respiratory infection, 470,000 hospitalisations and 33,000 in-hospital deaths among adults 60 years of age or over in industrialised countries.

In a four-year study in Singapore, one out of every 20 older adults aged 65 years or over has tested positive for RSV. RSV is a common, contagious virus that affects the lungs and respiratory airways. The virus can affect all ages and could be often similar to other acute respiratory infections, like colds or influenza, including a blocked nose, cough, fatigue, fever, sore throat, runny nose, body aches and headache, and a test is needed to confirm a diagnosis.

But the impact of RSV in those over 60 years of age is significant. RSV among older adults aged 60 years or over and with an underlying medical condition could even be more serious. They have a greater risk of being hospitalised from RSV compared to those without these conditions.

In this group of people, RSV can cause lower respiratory tract disease, which may lead to exacerbation of these underlying diseases, hospitalisation and death. Data from the AReSVi-006 Phase III trial showed efficacy of 94.6% for Arexvy in preventing LRTD caused by RSV in older adults aged 60 years or over and with at least one underlying medical condition of interest, that includes cardiorespiratory and endocrine-metabolic (such as asthma, COPD, diabetes, congestive heart failure, among others). Overall, in adults aged 60 years or over, the vaccine demonstrated high vaccine efficacy of 82.6% against LRTD caused by RSV.