Europe Expands Pneumococcal 15-valent Conjugate Vaccine Indication for Minors

Merck announced today that the European Commission (EC) had approved an expanded indication for VAXNEUVANCE™ (Pneumococcal 15-valent Conjugate Vaccine) to include active immunization for the prevention of invasive disease, pneumonia, and acute otitis media caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) in infants, children and adolescents from 6 weeks to less than 18 years of age.

VAXNEUVANCE is also indicated in Europe for adults.

“VAXNEUVANCE was developed to maintain a strong immune response to serotypes included in currently available pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV) while expanding coverage to disease-causing serotypes that can pose a substantial risk to infants and children,” said Dr. Eliav Barr, SVP, head of global clinical development and chief medical officer, Merck Research Laboratories, in a press release on October 24, 2022.

“With this approval, we are pleased to bring an important new PCV option to a vulnerable population in Europe, including infants less than one year of age, who typically experience the highest rates of disease.”

Pneumococcal disease is an infection caused by the bacterium S. pneumoniae, or pneumococcus.

While there are more than 100 different types of S. pneumoniae, called serotypes, several serotypes are responsible for most pneumococcal infections.

Invasive pneumococcal disease can cause serious and potentially life-threatening infections such as bacteremia, bacteremic pneumonia, and meningitis.

In July 2021, VAXNEUVANCE received approval from the U.S. FDA.

Other pneumococcal vaccine news is posted at PrecisionVaccinations.

Note: This article was manually translated and curated for mobile readers and is not paid content.