Arexvy was the first vaccine approved by the U.S. FDA to prevent respiratory syncytial virus disease in older adults.
The FDA approved Arexvy in May 2023 for adults aged 60 and older. Developed by GSK, it uses a prefusion form of the RSV F protein together with an adjuvant designed to strengthen the immune response.
Respiratory syncytial virus commonly causes mild cold-like illness, but it can lead to pneumonia or bronchiolitis in infants and severe disease in older adults. Before 2023, prevention options included antibody products for selected infants, but there was no vaccine for older adults.
Arexvy was followed in 2023 by other RSV prevention products, including Pfizer’s Abrysvo vaccine. Beyfortus and Synagis are monoclonal-antibody products rather than traditional vaccines, so they are not interchangeable answers to this question.