UNICEF Awards Crucell $110 Million to Support Vaccination Programs in the Developing World

Crucell N.V. (Leiden, the Netherlands) has been awarded $110 million from UNICEF to supply its pediatric vaccine Quinvaxem to the developing world.

Quinvaxem is a fully liquid pentavalent DTwP-HepB-Hib vaccine that is free from the preservative thiomersal. It protects against five potentially deadly childhood diseases: diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, Hemoplilus influenza type b infection, and hepatitis B. Quinvaxem is ready for use without further preparation steps by healthcare workers in the field, which is a major advantage for healthcare workers in underdeveloped countries.

Pediatric vaccination plays an important role in achieving the Millennium Development goals set by the United Nations, specifically, reducing under-five mortality rate by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015.

From 2006–2009, as part of the Extended Program for Immunization, more than 130 million doses of Quinvaxem have been delivered to more than 50 countries. Crucell has been increasing its production capacity over the last few years to meet the growing demand for pediatric vaccines from the developing world.