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Pfizer Announces Positive Results With Coadministration of Prevnar 20, COVID-19 Vaccine
Responses elicited by the pneumococcal vaccine for all 20 serotypes were similar whether administered with the COVID-19 vaccine or with placebo.
Pfizer has announced positive topline results from a phase 3 study evaluating the safety and immunogenicity of the company’s pneumococcal 20-valent conjugate vaccine (Prevnar 20) when coadministered with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
According to a press release, the vaccines were coadministered in 570 adults 65 years of age or older. Responses elicited by the pneumococcal vaccine for all 20 serotypes were similar whether administered with the COVID-19 vaccine or with placebo, and responses to a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine were also similar when administered with Prevnar 20 or with placebo. The safety profile for co-administration of the pneumococcal and COVID-19 booster vaccines was similar to that of the COVID-19 booster dose.
“Pfizer is steadfast in its commitment to address the burden of certain respiratory diseases while raising awareness of the importance of adult immunizations,” said Kathrin U. Jansen, PhD, senior vice president and head of vaccine research and development at Pfizer, in the press release. “These new safety and immunogenicity data provide further evidence supporting the potential to administer Prevnar 20 and the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at the same time, thereby reducing the number of visits adults make to their doctor’s office or pharmacy for recommended immunization.”
The study was initiated in May 2021 and recruited adults from the pivotal phase 3 Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial. It included adults who received their second dose of the vaccine at least 6 months prior to entering the coadministration study. The data will be published at a later date, although no coadministration data are currently included in the Prevnar 20 or Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine prescribing information.
Prevnar 20 is a next-generation pneumococcal conjugate vaccine that includes capsular polysaccharide conjugates for the 13 serotypes already included in Prevnar 13, as well as 7 additional serotypes that cause invasive pneumococcal disease. These additional serotypes are also associated with high case-fatality rates, antibiotic resistance, and meningitis. Prevnar 20 helps protect against more strains of pneumococcal pneumonia-causing bacteria than any other conjugate vaccine available, according to Pfizer.
The FDA approved Prevnar 20 for the prevention of invasive disease and pneumonia in adults 18 years of age and older on June 8, 2021. Pfizer has recently submitted a supplemental Biologics License Application to the FDA to include data in the vaccine’s prescribing information for adults 18 years of age or older regarding coadministration of the vaccine with a seasonal inactivated influenza vaccine.
“As the COVID-19 vaccines and booster doses continue to be administered, we believe that health care providers have an opportunity to talk to their adult patients about other recommended vaccines in line with CDC guidance,” Jansen said in the press release.
REFERENCE
Positive Top-Line Results of Pfizer’s Phase 3 Study Exploring Coadministration of Prevnar 20 With Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine in Older Adults Released. News release. Pfizer; January 12, 2022. Accessed January 12, 2022. https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/positive-top-line-results-pfizers-phase-3-study-exploring-0
