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Sanofi says FDA considering expanded vaccine use

Sanofi Pasteur said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had accepted its application to extend the age group that can receive a vaccine that can prevent meningococcal disease.

Sanofi Pasteur said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had accepted its application to extend the age group that can receive a vaccine that can prevent meningococcal disease.

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis with U.S. headquarters in Swiftwater, Monroe County, said the FDA was reviewing its supplemental biologics license application for Menactra to be used in infants and toddlers.

All of the Menactra vaccine is made in Swiftwater, said Sanofi spokeswoman Susan Watkins.

The vaccine already is approved for those age 2 through 55. It offers protection against the bacteria that cause meningococcal infection, which can be fatal or cause permanent disability.

Watkins said that 32 million Menactra doses have been sold in the United States since 2005, when the vaccine was licensed.    - Roslyn Rudolph