Bronchitis: According to a study, Sanofi’s preventive treatment is effective

A preventive treatment developed by pharmaceutical groups Sanofi and AstraZeneca has proven effective in protecting children from the virus that causes bronchiolitis, according to a study reviewing an immunization campaign conducted over several months in Spain.

“These first real-life data support the idea that nirsevimab”, the Befortus molecule, “protects children from hospitalization for respiratory infections associated with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)”, according to a study published on Thursday in Eurosurveillance, a journal published by the European Center comes to a conclusion. Agency for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), European Union.

RSV is the leading cause of bronchiolitis, a type of infection that mainly affects infants. Although usually not serious, it can land them in the hospital.

Beyfortus is part of a salvo of treatments aimed at limiting RSV infections, with others being developed by Pfizer and GSK. The latter are vaccines while Befortus is a monoclonal antibody, but in all cases the idea is to act upstream.

Several countries, including the United States and France, chose to quickly launch vaccination campaigns using Beauforts, prompting some criticism of the initial decision in relation to available data.

Avoid “between 70% and 84%” of hospitalizations

But a study published in Eurosurveillance and conducted in Spain, another country that has launched a campaign using this treatment, confirms its effectiveness in limiting hospitalizations of children with bronchiolitis.

The researchers estimated that nirsevimab prevented “between 70% and 84%” of hospitalizations for respiratory infections caused by RSV.

These findings are also consistent with the results of a clinical trial of Befortus, as well as the results of an earlier, smaller study conducted in Luxembourg. They “declare a potential significant impact of the nircevimab immunization program” against the bronchiolitis epidemic, the researchers underlined.

This could prove heavy on health systems, as in 2022-2023 when thousands of children were hospitalized in France, unprecedented levels for more than a decade.