GlaxoSmithKline PLC (LON:GSK) has applied for approval for its new over-50s shingles vaccine in Europe to follow its submission in the US last month.
Shingrix came through a final phase III study with flying colours.
In the study, Shingrix showed a 90% efficacy in adults aged 70 and older that was maintained for four years. It also helped reduce the level of pain in sufferers
Shingles stems from the reactivation of the chicken pox virus VZV, with one in three people over the age of fifty likely to suffer and one in two over 85.
Most sufferers are afflicted with a rash, but in the severest cases the disease can cause blindness and intense pain.
The phase III trial evaluated the efficacy, safety and immunogenicity in doses two months apart.
Dr Emmanuel Hanon, Glaxo’s head of Vaccines R&D, said the vaccine has consistently shown high efficacy in older people in its phase III development programme.
“Today's file submission puts us a step closer to making this vaccine available to help protect more people from shingles and the complications associated with it."
First revenues from the product are expected in 2018.
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