Currently, MenACWY and MenB vaccines are licensed separately; with no single vaccine addressing all five serogroups.
Pfizer, therefore, believes it can make its mark with a pentavalent vaccine: with its candidate meeting all primary and secondary endpoints in the Phase 3 trial.
Boosting vaccination schedules
Five serogroups (A, B, C, W and Y) account for 96% of all invasive meningococcal disease cases worldwide, with serogroup B accounting for the majority of disease in adolescents and young adults in the US and Europe.
In the US, the current vaccination recommendations for adolescents and young adults include a MenACWY vaccine and a separate MenB vaccine, totaling four doses.
However, less than a third of adolescents receive even one dose of a MenB vaccine, and fewer complete the two-dose series, resulting in many adolescents being unprotected against meningococcal disease caused by serogroups A, B, C, W, and Y.
Pfizer, therefore, believes it can simplify the meningococcal vaccination schedule by reducing the total number of doses to provide protection against all five serogroups.
“The potential recommendation of a pentavalent vaccine in the US as an alternative to the existing MenACWY vaccines across both the 11- to 12-year-old and 16-year-old vaccination platforms provides a significant opportunity for Pfizer to enter the US,” said Angela Hwang, President, Global Biopharma Business, Pfizer.
“MenACWY vaccine market and help protect more young people across the country. Today, we estimate there are approximately 52 million adolescents and young adults who are in the age range for meningococcal vaccination according to CDC guidance.