Vaxcyte’s 24-Valent Pneumococcal Vaccine Shows Best-In-Class Potential

Vaxcyte, Inc. unveiled top-line Phase I/II data for its 24-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) on 24 October, showing safety comparable to Pfizer Inc.’s Prevnar 20 and demonstrating non-inferiority on opsonophagocytic activity (OPA) across all 20 serotypes covered by Prevnar 20, with higher immune responses seen on 16 serotypes. VAX-24 also addresses four serotypes of invasive pneumococcal disease not covered by Prevnar 20 or any competing product and met standard superiority criteria for each in the data readout, the company said.

Various companies have been competing on what has long been the standard of care vaccine for the prevention of pneumococcal disease – Pfizer's Prevnar 13. Pfizer recently added new serotypes to an updated version of Prevnar called Prevnar 20 and Merck & Co., Inc. heightened the competition with a 15-valent vaccine, approved in 2021 as Vaxneuvance. (Also see "Pfizer's Prevnar 20 Edges Closer To Infant Market, But Phase III Raises Some Questions" - Scrip, 15 August, 2022