At the end of August 2022, PharmaJet announced that the WHO had chosen its Tropis Needle-free Injection System (NFIS) for polio vaccination campaigns. The statement indicated that this decision is “part of a broader effort of coordinated campaigns between Pakistan and Afghanistan”.
In our previous piece on polio we explored how, although suppressed in much of the world for many years, the disease has never fully been eradicated. Cases continue in Afghanistan and Pakistan. PharmaJet’s announcement suggests the WHO previously used the Tropis NFIS in Pakistan and Somalia for the “immunisation of over 3 million children”. Results from this campaign demonstrated that the system is a “preferred and effective solution”. Furthermore, it is estimated to “increase campaign coverage by over 18%”.
PharmaJet’s Tropis NFIS has demonstrated “proven cost savings, ease of training, and improved coverage benefits”. President and CEO of PharmaJet, Chris Cappello, emphasised his pleasure at the partnership with WHO in the effort against polio.
“Our previous joint campaigns in Pakistan demonstrated an increase in vaccination coverage due to the preference of our technology. We are glad to be part of the fight to stop this terrible disease impacting children globally.”
Now or never
This partnership comes at a critical time, according to the WHO. In June, it held its 32nd polio International Health Regulations Emergency Committee to review progress. The committee was “concerned” at the appearance of cases in Africa. It expressed further concern at the recent outbreak in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. According to the statement, the “risks to the rest of Pakistan [had] escalated”.
Vaccine hesitancy and “local community engagement challenges” were quoted as barriers to immunisation progress. Additionally, modelling indicates that a failure to eradicate polio in Afghanistan and Pakistan will results in a “global resurgence in wild polio transmission”. A predicted 200,000 new cases each year across 10 years would be devastating.
To hear more from PharmaJet and to get an update on the global fight against polio come to the World Vaccine Congress in Europe, 2022.
