June 18, 2024 – There is a brand new tool to combat invasive pneumococcal disease and pneumococcal pneumonia in adults: The FDA has approved Merck’s recent vaccine to stop these diseases.
The injectable drug Capvaxive specifically protects against 22 serotypes or strains of bacteria that cause invasive pneumococcal disease in adults, the corporate said in a News These strains account for about 84% of cases of invasive pneumococcal disease in adults ages 50 and older and about 85% of those cases in adults ages 65 and older, Merck said.
The pharmaceutical company said that roughly 150,000 adults within the United States are hospitalized every year for pneumococcal pneumonia.
“Complications from invasive pneumococcal disease can result in hospitalization, organ damage and even death,” said Dr. Walter Orenstein, professor emeritus of drugs, epidemiology, global health and pediatrics at Emory University and a member of Merck's Scientific Advisory Board, within the press release. “Many cases of disease in adults are caused by serotypes not included in other approved pneumococcal conjugate vaccines,”
The drug cannot yet go in the marketplace. A draft agenda shows that a CDC advisory panel will meet on June 27 to debate the vaccine. If the committee votes to approve it, the CDC director will resolve whether the vaccine needs to be available nationwide.
Tests have shown that Capvaxive was well tolerated by the test subjects. The essential complaints were pain on the injection site, fatigue, headaches and muscle pain, Merck explained.
According to Reuters, Merck said Capvaxive has a wholesale price of $287 per dose, but most individuals could likely get it without cost if the drug receives a routine CDC advice. Capvaxive's biggest competitor is more likely to be Pfizer's vaccine Prevnar 20, which was approved in 2021 to be used in adults 18 and older, in line with Reuters.
Correction added June 20, 2024: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the vaccine protects against 21 serotypes. In fact, it protects against 22.