Multicomponent Meningococcal Serogroup B Vaccine (4CMenB; Bexsero®): A Review of its Use in Primary and Booster Vaccination

Multicomponent meningococcal serogroup B vaccine (4CMenB; Bexsero®) is a unique vaccine containing four main immunogenic components: three recombinant proteins combined with outer membrane vesicles derived from meningococcal NZ98/254 strain. After three doses of 4CMenB (administered at 2, 3, and 4 months or 2, 4, and 6 months of age) in vaccine-naive infants, the majority of infants had seroprotective human complement serum bactericidal assay (hSBA) antibody titers against the meningococcal serogroup B test strains selected to be specific for the vaccine antigens in randomized, open-label or observer-blind, multicenter, phase IIb or III trials. In extensions to the phase III trial, two doses of 4CMenB administered between 12 and 15 months of age in vaccine-naive infants, and a single booster dose of 4CMenB administered at 12 months of age in vaccine-experienced infants, also elicited robust immunogenic responses. In a phase IIb/III trial, the majority of adolescents (aged 11–17 years) achieved seroprotective hSBA antibody titers against meningococcal serogroup B test strains after two doses of 4CMenB, and a third dose did not appear to add any extra protection. In adults who were potentially at an increased risk of occupational exposure to meningococcal isolates, seroprotection rates were high after one dose of 4CMenB and increased further after two or three doses in a small noncomparative, two-center, phase II trial. The reactogenicity of 4CMenB was generally acceptable in clinical trials. However, the vaccine was associated with more solicited systemic adverse events (particularly fever) in infants when coadministered with routine infant vaccines than when these vaccines were administered alone. In conclusion, 4CMenB effectively elicited immune responses against meningococcal serogroup B test strains selected to be specific for the vaccine antigens in infants, adolescents, and adults.