PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- GlaxoSmithKline
(NYSE: GSK) announced today the launch of the RELENZA(R) (zanamivir)
Inhalation Powder Pandemic Readiness for Employers Program (P.R.E.P.) that
enables businesses two options when stockpiling RELENZA in preparation for an
influenza pandemic. Under the new plan, businesses will have the option to
purchase Relenza now at a discounted rate with free storage or to reserve
quantities of Relenza for future purchase at a capped rate with a nominal
annual fee.
'We are committed to helping employers and other business leaders prepare
for an influenza pandemic and its impact on the health of their employees and
the operational integrity of their organizations,' said Chris Viehbacher,
President, North American Pharmaceuticals, GlaxoSmithKline. 'By offering
employers these options, we aim to reduce the storage and cost barriers
associated with implementing an antiviral stockpiling program.'
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) encourages
employers to take the lead in protecting their workforce and to stockpile the
antivirals they will need to protect their employees. HHS acknowledges the
importance of diversifying stockpiles and recommends the stockpiling of
existing antiviral drugs as part of a comprehensive pandemic plan.
'A diversified stockpile of antivirals is important as we are coming to
understand that our concerns for the past few years about resistance of
pandemic influenza viruses to antivirals were justified,' said Anne Moscona,
M.D., Professor of Pediatrics and of Microbiology and Immunology and Vice
Chair for Research of Pediatrics, New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell
Medical Center. 'The recent article in Nature, further explaining the
mechanism for this emerging resistance, reinforced the importance of
diversifying your antiviral stockpiles in order to help protect the broadest
number of employees.'
P.R.E.P. includes two purchasing options to help employers enact their
antiviral stockpiling programs.
The RELENZA Preferred Pricing option offers a discounted price to reduce
the burden of upfront expenses and guarantees the opportunity to repurchase
RELENZA at a set discounted price. In addition, the RELENZA Preferred Pricing
option includes free storage. As companies prepare for potential emergencies,
such as an influenza pandemic, this plan ensures employers will have access to
treatment.
The second choice is the RELENZA Reservation option, which reduces the
need for large upfront expenditures and locks in a future purchase price for
RELENZA. There is an annual fee of $6 per unit to reserve and maintain the
reservation during the life of the contract.
