Novartis MenB trial results published

Novartis’ Meningitis B (MenB) could be the first vaccine to offer broad protection for infants against the disease, a trial suggests.

The findings of the Phase II study were positive, with between 85 per cent and 96 per cent of infants over the age of two months developing immunity to the infection within months, the company said.

A fourth dose administered at 12 months showed 93 per cent to 100 per cent of infants were protected.

MenB contains multiple bacterial surface proteins (antigens) which the company believes are responsible for the MenB strains found globally.

Ray Borrow, head of the UK’s Health Protection Agency’s Vaccine Evaluation Unit, said: “The prospect of one vaccine that protects infants worldwide against meningococcal serogroup B would be a key achievement in global disease prevention of our time.”

He added that the new findings suggested that the vaccine “is likely” to kill strains that are contained in the antigen.

Meningitis UK says MenB is the most common cause of potentially fatal infection in newborn babies.