BioTuesdays

PharmaJet supporting WHO polio eradication in Pakistan

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PharmaJet is providing an additional five million syringes to a WHO polio eradication campaign in Pakistan, starting in May 2023.

The supplemental immunization activity campaign will be conducted in two phases in the Southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province located in the north-west region of Pakistan, and in the Quetta Block located in Northern Balochistan province near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

The PharmaJet Tropis Precision Delivery System (PDS) was selected based on its proven cost savings, ease of training, and improved immunization coverage benefits.

The WHO previously introduced needle-free intradermal delivery of inactivated polio vaccine in Pakistan and Somalia using the PharmaJet Tropis ID PDS for the immunization of millions of children.

Published results from Pakistan and recent survey results from Somalia showed that the Tropis PDS is an effective and preferred solution for polio immunization campaigns that can help increase campaign coverage by over 18%.

“Very much like COVID, as long as we have polio transmission anywhere, potentially everywhere is at risk,” Aidan O’Leary, director of polio eradication at the WHO, said in a statement. “To finish the job, we need to have an absolute, unrelenting focus on what we consider to be the most consequential geographies.”

Chris Cappello, president and CEO of closely-held PharmaJet, said the company has collaborated with the WHO for more than five years to eradicate polio.

“Now, with over 12 million needle-free syringes provided across multiple polio vaccination campaigns, we have confidence that our Precision Delivery Systems are safe, effective, and can be rapidly deployed in response to emergencies anywhere on the globe.”