GSK's Meningitis Vaccine Candidate: Crushing Clinical Trials or Just Playing Catch-up with Bexsero and Menveo?

GSK plc GSK presented preliminary results from the phase 3 trial of immunological vaccine effectiveness and safety of its MenABCWY combination vaccine candidate, administered as two doses given six months apart in healthy individuals aged 10-25 years. 

The preliminary data were disclosed at the European Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases Annual Meeting.

The vaccine candidate demonstrated non-inferiority in primary endpoints for five Neisseria meningitidis serogroups (A, B, C, W, and Y) compared to two doses of Bexsero (meningococcal group B vaccine) and one dose of Menveo (meningococcal group A, C, W-135, and Y conjugate vaccine) in 10–25-year-olds. 

The vaccine candidate was generally well tolerated, with a safety profile consistent with Bexsero and Menveo, GSK's already-approved meningitis vaccines.

In a separate confirmatory arm of this phase 3 trial, the MenABCWY vaccine candidate showed immunological effectiveness against a panel of 110 diverse meningococcal serogroup B (MenB) invasive strains, which account for 95% of strains circulating in the US.

Price Action: GSK shares are up 0.80% at $36.57 on the last check Friday.

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