Merck (NYSE:MRK) shares gained ground Thursday, after reporting its pneumococcal vaccine showed strong immune responses in children and teens who are at higher risk of serious illness in a late-stage study.
The shot, Capvaxive, triggered immune responses against 21 strains of the bacteria responsible for pneumococcal infections, which can cause severe illnesses including pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis.
Merck was testing the shot against its older vaccine PPSV23 in children aged two years and above and teens aged below 18 years, who have completed a primary pediatric pneumococcal vaccination regimen and have one or more chronic medical conditions that put them at increased risk.
“While CAPVAXIVE was designed to specifically cover the serotypes that cause the majority of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) cases in adults,” to quote one Merck official, “findings from STRIDE-13 underscore its added potential to help protect children and adolescents who are at an increased risk.
“We are encouraged by the safety and immunogenicity data presented at the 6th ESCMID Conference on Vaccines, which underpin our commitment to ensuring infants and adults have access to protection against invasive pneumococcal disease.”
These values do not reflect the efficacy of the respective vaccines. There are currently no studies comparing the efficacy of CAPVAXIVE and PCV20.
Capvaxive is already approved for adults in the U.S., European Union, Japan and other countries.
MRK shares hiked 40 cents to $84.43.
Related Stories
