New data for Menveo vaccine show excellent immune response and broad protection for infants against meningococcal meningitis

Menveo (MenACWY-CRM) the first quadrivalent conjugated meningitis vaccine to demonstrate an excellent immune response in infants

16-Nov-2007

New clinical data for the Novartis development vaccine Menveo(TM) (MenACWY-CRM) show an excellent and broad immune response in infants as young as six months of age against four common serogroups (or types) of meningococcal meningitis, a potentially fatal bacterial disease involving inflammation of membranes around the brain and spinal cord. According to the company, Menveo is currently the only vaccine to generate protective immune responses in infants, expanding beyond the coverage of currently available vaccines for teenagers and adults. This response was seen in all four of the common serogroups - A, C, W-135 and Y - associated with meningococcal meningitis, which is caused by the bacteria Neisseria meningitidis.

The infant clinical trial data for this conjugated meningococcal vaccine, which utilizes technology that offers improved immunization responses compared to older bacterial polysaccharide vaccines, were presented for the first time today at the 5th World Congress of The World Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases (WSPID) in Bangkok. Using a flexible administration schedule, results from the Phase II study of 175 infants who received either two doses of Menveo at ages six and 12 months or one dose of Menveo at age 12 months showed a robust immune response against serogroups A, C, W-135, and Y after one month.

The data reinforce earlier findings showing that Menveo - which is currently on track for regulatory submissions in 2008 - was well-tolerated and immunogenic in the first year of life and has the potential to protect against the A, C, W-135 and Y serogroups from early infancy.

"These data are encouraging given the unmet need for an effective meningococcal meningitis vaccine with broad serogroup coverage that can be given to infants," said Scott Halperin, MD, the lead study investigator and Director of the Canadian Center for Vaccinology as well as Professor of Pediatrics and Microbiology and Immunology at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada.

https://www.bionity.com/en/news/74325/new-data-for-menveo-vaccine-show-excellent-immune-response-and-broad-protection-for-infants-against-meningococcal-meningitis.html