Sanofi has announced the launch of Verorab®? (Sanofi Inactivated Rabies Vaccine) in the UK, an inactivated rabies vaccine indicated for pre-exposure and post-exposure prophylaxis of rabies in all age groups. This launch is based on extensive clinical data from over 13,000 individuals.

Sanofi Inactivated Rabies vaccine has been approved and widely used in more than 80 countries. It is estimated that between 41 and 70 million individuals have received the vaccine since its first licensure in May 1985, in France. Each year, an estimated 59,000 people worldwide die from rabies.

That's one person every nine minutes of every day, with approximately 95% of deaths occurring in Asia and Africa. Individuals travelling to these countries should be aware of the risk of rabies and take the appropriate precautionary measures. Rabies in the UK is extremely rare, and the last case of classical rabies acquired in the UK occurred more than a century ago.

Rabies is primarily transmitted by the bite, scratch, or lick of a rabid animal, 99% of which are by dogs, but can also be other wildlife, such as foxes or bats.