Novartis Reveals Development of New Meningitis Vaccine for Teens

Leading pharmaceutical giant Novartis revealed that it has developed a new vaccine that provides teenagers with full protection against meningitis B bacteria.

Large scale clinical trials of the vaccine, known as 4CMenB, revealed that it generated an immune response against Meningococcal B after two doses in almost 100 percent of the teenagers who took part in the study.

Novartis said that it has applied for European regulatory authorities for a license last year and an approval is expected this spring.

According to the report published in The Lancet journal, a study conducted in Chile included more than 1,600 teenagers who were given the vaccine. The researchers found that two to three doses of the vaccine, given six months apart, triggered a protective response from the immune system. The researchers said that the vaccine could provide protection against more than 80 percent of over 1,000 meningitis B strains found in Europe.

Source: Medindia