25 May 2018 - - New York, New York-based biopharmaceutical and healthcare products specialist Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) has released results from a study analyzing real-world effectiveness data that found Prevnar 13 (pneumococcal 13-valent conjugate vaccine [diphtheria CRM197 Protein]) reduced the risk of hospitalization from vaccine-type pneumococcal community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) by 73% in adults aged 65 and older, the company said.
Prevnar 13 worked under real-world conditions where people received pneumococcal vaccination as advised by their health care providers, and many had underlying medical conditions that increase the risk for pneumococcal pneumonia.
The study, conducted jointly between the University of Louisville School of Medicine and Pfizer, was designed as a test-negative case-control study and provides evidence supporting the findings of the randomized, controlled community-acquired pneumonia immunization trial in adults (CAPiTA).
Nested within a population-based surveillance study, adults in Louisville, Kentucky who were hospitalized with CAP in one of nine adult acute-care hospitals between October 7, 2013 and September 30, 2016 were prospectively enrolled.
The study used an established measure of vaccine effectiveness known as a test-negative design. Patients with pneumonias caused by pneumococcal serotypes included in PCV13 were considered "cases," and "control" subjects were patients with CAP who tested negative for PCV13 serotypes.
In the study period, there were a total of 2,034 CAP hospitalizations with a median age of 76 years. Researchers identified PCV13 serotypes in 68 of patients who served as the case subjects. Cases were less likely to have received PCV13 vs. controls.
This indicated that PCV13 use in adults aged 65 and older can prevent 73% of CAP caused by PCV13 serotypes.
In adults 18 years of age and older, Prevnar 13 is indicated for active immunization for the prevention of pneumonia and invasive disease caused by S. pneumoniae serotypes 1, 3, 4, 5, 6A, 6B, 7F, 9V, 14, 18C, 19A, 19F, and 23F.
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