US FDA approves first vaccine to prevent serogroup B meningococcal disease

The US Food and Drug Administration yesterday granted accelerated approval for pharma major Pfizer’s (NYSE: PFE) Trumenba (meningococcal group B vaccine), the first vaccine licensed in the USA to prevent invasive meningococcal disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B in individuals 10 through 25 years of age.

Meningococcal disease is a life-threatening illness caused by bacteria that infect the bloodstream (sepsis) and the lining that surrounds the brain and spinal cord (meningitis). N. meningitidis is a leading cause of bacterial meningitis. The bacteria are transmitted from person to person through respiratory or throat secretions (eg, by coughing, kissing, or sharing eating utensils). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 500 total cases of meningococcal disease were reported in the United States in 2012; of those cases, 160 were caused by serogroup B.

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