New perspectives for hexavalent vaccines.

With the increase in the number of routine vaccinations the development of pentavalent and hexavalent combination vaccines fitting the routine vaccination schedules became a necessity. In this respect, Europe has taken the lead in comparison with other world regions, and routine vaccination with pentavalent and hexavalent combinations including DTPa, Hib, HepB and IPV has been on European vaccination programs for >15years. Since the marketing authorization of Hexavac® and Infanrix Hexa® in 2000, immunization schedules in most European countries have included hexavalent vaccines. In the last years, two new hexavalent vaccines have been licensed and commercialized worldwide. This paper presents a review of the pharmaceutical profiles of the three hexavalent vaccines currently available. In addition, we aim to review safety, co-administration, tolerability and other practical concerns of their use.