Pneumonia vaccine could save money in flu pandemic

* Most flu deaths caused by pneumonia

* Vaccine could save lives and money

By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO, Nov 1 (Reuters) - A more protective form of Pfizer's (PFE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) vaccine for pneumococcal disease would be highly effective at preventing deaths from pandemic influenza, independent researchers and the company reported over the weekend.

In a severe outbreak like the 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic, they said Prevnar 13 -- a more broadly protective version of Prevnar vaccine -- could prevent an additional 388,000 cases of pneumonia and save an additional $6.2 billion in health care costs.

The savings would be far greater -- $18 billion in medical costs -- in countries that have not offered any immunization against pneumococcal disease, the team reported at a meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America in Philadelphia.

Prevnar vaccine developed by Wyeth -- which was recently acquired by Pfizer -- protects against seven strains of penumococcal bacteria in infants and children.

Prevnar 13 protects against 13 forms of bacteria called Streptococcus pneumoniae that can cause an array of so-called pneumococcal diseases, ranging from ear infections to pneumonia and meningitis.

"Essentially, there will be significant savings in countries that introduce this vaccine in preventing all of these infections," Dr. Keith Klugman of Emory University in Atlanta, who worked on the studies, said in a telephone interview.