Wyeth's PCV13 may offer broader protection than Prevnar

Data from a pivotal trial and three other Phase III studies presented at the 48th annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in Washington DC, USA, indicate that Wyeth's investigational 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) may offer broader protection against pneumococcal disease in infants and young children compared to its older vaccine, the blockbuster Prevnar.

According to the findings, PCV13 may be as effective as Prevnar in helping to prevent invasive pneumococcal disease due to the seven serotypes shared by the vaccines, and may provide expanded coverage for six additional serotypes found worldwide.

The candidate vaccine includes the 13 most common pneumococcal serotypes associated with serious forms of the disease. Seven of these (4, 6B, 9V, 14, 18C, 19F and 23F) are included in Prevnar - the current global standard in the prevention of the condition in infants and young children. The six additional serotypes (1, 3, 5, 6A, 7F and 19A) are associated with the greatest burden of residual, or remaining, invasive disease. Both vaccines contain CRM197 - an immunological carrier protein with a 20-year history of use in pediatric vaccines.