Meningococcal vaccine candidate shows promise in phase 3 trial
GSK’s five-in-one meningococcal vaccine candidate has shown promising results in a phase 3 trial involving healthy individuals aged ten to 25 years.
Preliminary results for the MenABCWY candidate were presented by the company at the European Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases congress in Lisbon, Portugal.
Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) is an uncommon but serious illness that can cause life-threatening complications or even death, with the highest incidence occurring in children and adolescents.
Five Neisseria meningitides serogroups – A, B, C, W, and Y – account for nearly all IMD cases, but there are currently no approved vaccines that offer simultaneous protection against all of them.
In the US, two separate vaccines needing four injections are required to protect against all five serogroups. This regimen, together with low awareness of the disease, can lead to poor immunisation rates.
