Safety and immunogenicity of meningococcal ACWY CRM197-conjugate vaccine in children, adolescents and adults in Russia

Neisseria meningitidis is the leading cause of bacterial invasive infections in people aged <15 years in the Russian Federation. The aim of this phase III, multicenter, open-label study was to assess the immunogenicity and safety of the quadrivalent meningococcal CRM197-conjugate vaccine MenACWY when administered to healthy Russian subjects aged 2 years and above. A total of 197 subjects were immunized with a single dose of the vaccine, and serogroup-specific serum bactericidal activity was measured pre and 1-month post-vaccination with human complement (hSBA) serum titers. Regardless of baseline serostatus, 1 month after a single dose of MenAC WY-CRM197 85% (95% CI, 79-90%) of subjects showed serologic response against serogroup A, 74% (67-80%) against serogroup C, 60% (53-67%) against serogroup W, and 83% (77-88%) against serogroup Y. The percentage of subjects with hSBA titers >= 1:8 1 month after vaccination was 89% (83-93%) against serogroup A, 84% (78-89%) against serogroup C, 97% (93-99%) against serogroup W, and 88% (82-92%) against serogroup Y. Comparable results were obtained across all subjects: children (2 to 10 years), adolescents (11 to 17 years), and adults (>= 18 years). The MenAC WY-CRM197 vaccine showed an acceptable safety profile and was well tolerated across all age groups, with no serious adverse events or deaths reported during the study. In conclusion, a single dose of meningococcal MenAC WY-CRM197 vaccine is immunogenic and has an acceptable safety profile, provides a broad protection against the most frequent epidemic serogroups, and is a suitable alternative to currently available unconjugated monovalent or bivalent polysaccharide vaccines in Russia.