Merck Stops Sales of Monovalents for Measles, Mumps, Rubella

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Merck Focusing on Combination Vaccine

Manufacturer Stops Sales of Monovalents for Measles, Mumps, Rubella

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12/24/2008

Merck & Co. Inc. has stopped production and sales of its monovalent

vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella. The manufacturer instead

plans to focus on its combination vaccine, MMRII.

Merck spokeswoman Amy Rose said MMRII accounts for 98 percent of the

company's volume for measles, mumps and rubella vaccines, compared to

just 2 percent from monovalent vaccines Attenuvax (measles), Mumpsvax

(mumps) and Meruvax (rubella).

" The combination vaccine is what's recommended, and it's such a

significant portion of the orders we see, " said Rose. " It's in the

best interest of public health to make more of that rather than

dedicate manufacturing capacity to monovalents. "

Rose said Merck had not decided when, or if, it might make the

monovalent vaccines available for sale in the future.

Doug Campos-Outcalt, M.D., M.P.A., who serves as the AAFP's liaison to

the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and is a former

member of the AAFP Commission on Clinical Policies and Research, said

Merck's decision was insignificant in terms of public health. He

added, however, that some parents likely will be unhappy.

" The use of the single antigen is pretty limited, " he said. " There's

no harm if you need one in getting all three. There are some parents

out there that want a delayed vaccine schedule. They want the vaccines

spread out over a longer period of time and not so many at once.

That's a lot of hooey. Alternative schedules have never been proven to

be superior. "