Vaxcyte reports Phase 3 success for pneumococcal vaccine candidate

Vaxcyte said its experimental pneumococcal vaccine VAX-31 met key endpoints in a Phase 3 trial in adults, comparing it with Pfizer’s Prevnar 20 and Merck’s Capvaxive. BioPharma Dive reported that this is the first of three Phase 3 studies of the candidate.

BioPharma Dive reported that VAX-31 matched the vaccines on nearly all bacterial strains. It missed against two strains only under a stricter-than-normal statistical framework for non-inferiority, the outlet said. VAX-31 needed to match the effectiveness of one comparator, an objective the company achieved, according to the report. The candidate is designed to cover more than 30 bacterial strains. Vaxcyte is evaluating it in two other late-stage studies, BioPharma Dive reported.