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[From a pathogen's genome to an effective vaccine: the four-component meningococcal serogroup B vaccine]

R Abad1, F Martinón-Torres, M E Santolaya

  • 1Raquel Abad, Laboratorio de Referencia para Meningococos, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Ctra. Majadahonda-Pozuelo Km. 2,200, 28220 Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain. rabad@isciii.es.

Revista Espanola De Quimioterapia : Publicacion Oficial De La Sociedad Espanola De Quimioterapia
|June 1, 2019
PubMed

Insights

A new 4-component meningococcal vaccine (4CMenB) shows high effectiveness (82.9%) in infants against serogroup B invasive meningococcal disease (IMD). This vaccine, developed using reverse vaccinology, offers protection against a leading cause of infant mortality and morbidity.

Area of Science:

  • * Vaccinology and immunology
  • * Bacterial pathogenesis and disease prevention
  • * Public health and epidemiology

Background:

  • * Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD), caused by *Neisseria meningitidis*, presents significant global mortality and morbidity, particularly in infants.
  • * *Neisseria meningitidis* serogroup B is a primary cause of IMD in Europe and Latin America, posing a long-standing vaccine development challenge.
  • * Previous vaccine approaches, including capsular polysaccharide and strain-specific outer membrane vesicle (OMV) vaccines, had limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • * To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the 4-component meningococcal vaccine (4CMenB) against serogroup B IMD.
  • * To assess the immunogenicity of 4CMenB using human serum bactericidal antibody (hSBA) assays and Meningococcal Antigen Typing System (MATS).

Main Methods:

  • * The 4CMenB vaccine was developed using reverse vaccinology, incorporating novel antigens and OMVs.
  • * Vaccine immunogenicity was assessed via hSBA assays, a correlate of protection.
  • * Vaccine effectiveness was evaluated through field data collection since 2013, including analysis of outbreak control and national immunisation programme data.

Main Results:

  • * The 4CMenB vaccine demonstrated significant effectiveness, reaching 82.9% for the first two doses in a UK infant national immunisation programme.
  • * The vaccine has shown efficacy in controlling outbreaks in North America.
  • * 4CMenB exhibits an acceptable safety profile.

Conclusions:

  • * The 4CMenB vaccine is an effective tool for controlling serogroup B invasive meningococcal disease, especially in vulnerable infant populations.
  • * Reverse vaccinology has successfully yielded a broad-coverage vaccine against a challenging pathogen.
  • * Real-world data confirm the vaccine's effectiveness and acceptable safety, supporting its role in public health immunization strategies.

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