North Carolina pharma companies on the frontlines of RSV fight

WUNC | By Bradley George

Published December 26, 2022 at 9:43 AM EST

A vaccine clinic in Lynwood, Calif., offering free flu and COVID-19 vaccines. Experts are using the word "tripledemic" for rises in COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Two pharmaceutical companies with North Carolina ties are working on vaccines and treatments for respiratory syncytial virus — otherwise known as RSV — that has made a resurgence this year.

Cases of the respiratory virus are surging around the world.

Earlier this year, Pfizer purchased ReViral, a Durham-based company developing RSV treatments.

Founded in 2011, ReViral’s U.K. headquarters are located in a bioscience park in Hertfordshire, about 29 miles north of London. Its U.S. headquarters are on Meridian Parkway in Durham. Pfizer has a large presence in Research Triangle Park and employs about 3,600 people in North Carolina.

The antiviral pill called sisunatovir has shown promising results in clinical trials. Earlier this month, Pfizer recently announced a partnershipwith Chinese biotech firm LianBio to mass-produce the drug in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore.

Pfizer is also working onan RSV vaccine, which could be approved for use in older adults next year.

British drug maker GSK, whose US headquarters in Research Triangle Park, says its vaccine is 94 percent effectivein preventing serious illness in people age 60 and older.