Novartis reports strong meningitis vaccine response

In a head-to-head trial, researchers for Novartis say that the experimental meningitis vaccine Menveo produced a more potent immune response than the standard therapy in use. And other data has underscored that the vaccine is effective in infants not covered by the current vaccine--Menactra. Bacterial meningitis kills about one in ten of its victims and leaves many of the rest deaf or suffering from seizures. In the new study, the Menveo group of 11 to 18-year-olds developed higher levels of antibodies against three of the five subtypes of meningitis and an equal amount of antibodies to a fourth.

"The number of adolescents that achieved protective antibody levels was also higher with the new vaccine," says Colin Marchant, a Boston University pediatrician.

- see this release [1] on the data
- read the report [2] from USA Today

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