The U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity announced the award of the Full Rate Production contract for Adenovirus Type 4 and Type 7 vaccines, live, oral by the Defense Logistics Agency to Barr Laboratories, Inc., a subsidiary of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. The contract will provide vaccines to all military basic training facilities until December 2019.

The Adenovirus vaccine has been protecting military trainees from infections by Adenovirus serotypes 4 and 7 since October 2011, when the military services resumed its use after a 12-year gap.

Surveillance data provided by the Naval Health Research Center shows the Adenovirus vaccine is 99 percent effective at preventing disease associated with Adenovirus type 4. Since October 2011, the vaccine has prevented 50,000 cases of Febrile Respiratory Illness (fever plus respiratory symptoms), saving roughly 150,000 training days that would have been lost to illness.

According to Dr. Clifford Snyder, Adenovirus vaccine product manager for the Pharmaceutical Systems Project Management Office at the USAMMDA, there were at least four Adenovirus type 4-associated deaths between 1999 and 2010, when the vaccine was not available.

"Resumption of Adenovirus vaccine use has undoubtedly saved lives as well as helped keep recruits healthy in training," said Snyder. "Award of the DLA contract will ensure that this critical vaccine is available for all services for the foreseeable future."

Contributors to the Adenovirus vaccine distribution and administration effort include the USAMMDA, the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Agency, the Immunization Healthcare Branch of the Defense Health Agency, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard basic training site personnel.