Sanofi has extended the deadline to enroll in its reservation program for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) immunization nirsevimab (Beyfortus).
Providers will have until May 17 to submit their forecasted needs for next season through Sanofi’s Beyfortus forecast tool. They can do so by working with their Sanofi representative or can visit the reservation program website to request a representative.
The company also announced its ordering system for all vaccines will be undergoing an update. It will not be available from May 24 to June 3. Then, ordering will be limited through June 17.
RSV causes about 50,000 to 80,000 hospitalizations and 100 to 300 deaths per year in children under 5 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Nirsevimab is recommended for infants under 8 months during their first RSV season and high-risk toddlers 8-19 months.
Sanofi recently announced it has raised the price of nirsevimab by 5%. The new list price per dose for the 50 milligram (mg) and 100 mg doses is $519.75. The price for the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program will stay the same at $395.Clinicians participating in the company’s new program to reserve doses for the 2024-’25 season can get a 2% discount on orders placed through VaccineShop.com between July 1 and Aug. 31 in addition to the standard 1% discount on orders placed through that site.
During July and August, program participants will be able to reserve doses and will be eligible for priority shipping, preferred monthly shipping schedules, 90-day payment terms and cancellation up to 14 days prior to scheduled shipments. Returns will be accepted on expired products.
Customers would receive their reserved shipments beginning in late August or early September and throughout the season.
Clinicians are not required to participate in the reservation program. The ordering window for nonparticipants will be September 2024 through February 2025 via vaccineshop.com. Clinicians ordering during this time would have payment terms of 60 days and no ability to schedule future shipments.
Sanofi hopes the reservation program can mitigate some of the supply issues that plagued the rollout of the immunization last fall. Infectious disease experts hailed the August 2023 approval of nirsevimab as a major advancement to protect the youngest children, but demand quickly outpaced supply.
Resources
- Information from the CDC on using nirsevimab
- Information on Sanofi’s reservation program for nirsevimab
- AAP RSV resources, including information on ordering, dosing, coding and a visual guide for nirsevimab administration
- AAP News article “How to use new CPT codes for administration of RSV immunizations”
- Vaccines for Children program operations guide addendum for nirsevimab
- Information for parents from HealthyChildren.org on RSV symptoms and when to call a doctor
- Information from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists on maternal RSV vaccine Abrysvo
