With the concurrent outbreak of respiratory diseases taking place across China, global healthcare company Sanofi aims at stepping up efforts to launch more innovative products, as well as hold events to enhance public awareness of respiratory diseases in the country.

The company held a respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, prevention science salon in Beijing on Friday. In the form of science dialogues, innovative visual art installations and interactive experiences, the event has brought together pediatric experts, artists and parents, aiming at raising public awareness of the burdens that infant RSV infections bring to the healthcare system, families and the society as a whole, especially the potential long-term effects, and ensure that babies can go through their first winter safe and sound.

RSV is a common and highly contagious respiratory virus. Infants are at a higher risk of developing severe illness from RSV infections due to their immature immune systems and lungs.

Zhou Wei, deputy chief physician of pediatrics at Peking University Third Hospital, said: "In clinical practice, we have seen many children with impaired lung function and recurrent wheezing due to RSV infections, and have witnessed the far-reaching influence on the children and their families firsthand."

Meng Qiang, a blogger of Xiaohongshu, also a mother, said: "As a working mother, I have truly experienced the torture brought to our whole family when my child was infected with respiratory diseases."

Currently, there are no wonder drugs for RSV in China yet, while clinical practice focuses simply on symptomatic treatment and supportive care. Fortunately, there has been a breakthrough in RSV prevention. In Dec 2023, the National Medical Products Administration approved a monoclonal antibody against RSV infections among infants. The monoclonal antibody, developed by Sanofi, is the first and only long-term monoclonal antibody in the world that targets RSV infections among infants.

Zhang Heping, head of Sanofi Vaccines Greater China, said: "We are now stepping up efforts in fighting against RSV through innovative measures, including data monitoring, academic exchanges, public education, and innovative prevention strategies and practices. In this way, we can ease the burden RSV places on families and the healthcare system, thereby avoiding the potential long-term effects on children."