About
CDC vaccine recommendations are developed using an explicit evidence-based method based on the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach.
Introduction
On June 22, 2022, ACIP recommended use of 15-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV15 [Vaxneuvance, Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC]) as an option for pneumococcal conjugate vaccination for persons aged <19 years according to currently recommended PCV13 dosing and schedules. A systematic review and Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach was employed to guide ACIP’s deliberations regarding use of this vaccine.
Methods
A systematic literature search was completed to review all available evidence on the immunogenicity and safety of PCV15 among pediatric age groups for which the vaccine was approved. Since only immunogenicity and safety data were available for PCV15, the search included 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13 [Prevnar 13, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a subsidiary of Pfizer, Inc.]) efficacy or effectiveness studies to help interpret PCV15 immunogenicity study findings. GRADE assessment was performed for PCV15 studies only. As a basis for the GRADE evidence assessment, the policy question consisting of the population, intervention, comparison, and outcomes of interest was defined (Table 1).
Table 1: Policy Question and PICO
This systematic review leveraged strategies used in existing systematic reviews, which captured literature published between January 1994–December 2019 targeting PCV7, PCV10, and PCV13 using various dosing schedules in the general pediatric population. Specifically, we utilized:
- Systematic Review of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Dosing Schedules (Loo 2014); searched literature from January 1994 – September 2010
- Systematic Review of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Dosing Schedules and Products (Cohen 2017); searched literature from October 2010 – December 2016
- Updated literature search to Cohen 2017, which was conducted to review evidence regarding dosing schedule changes; searched literature from January 2017 – December 2019
In addition, we conducted a search of literature published during January 2010 – October 2021 from the following databases: Medline (OVID), Embase (OVID), Cochrane Library, CINAHL (EbscoHost), and Scopus (for WOS). The search terms are included in Appendix 1. The updated search sought to capture:
- Pneumococcal vaccine studies specifically targeting children with underlying medical conditions*, which were not captured in the previous literature searches
- Additional literature on pneumococcal vaccines published since January 2020 to update the previous systematic reviews evaluating PCV13 use in the general pediatric population
Search results were supplemented by an updated Pubmed search using “V114**” or “PCV15” and a search of clinicaltrials.gov using “V114”. Unpublished data were provided by the vaccine manufacturer.
Studies with primary data on PCV15 use in children <2 years were included . Seventy-one studies were initially identified; after screening, deduplication, and exclusion, 7 were included for GRADE. Characteristics of these studied are included in Appendix 2. No PCV15 studies directly assessed vaccine effectiveness against the critical outcomes. Beneficial and harmful outcomes for the GRADE assessment were selected by the ACIP Pneumococcal Vaccines Work Group during calls and via an email survey in which Work Group members were asked to rank the relative importance of each outcome. Vaccine-type invasive pneumococcal disease, vaccine-type non-bacteremic pneumococcal pneumonia, vaccine-type acute otitis media, vaccine-type pneumococcal deaths, and serious adverse events (SAEs) following immunization were deemed to be critical outcomes (Table 2).
*Underlying medical conditions include cerebrospinal fluid leak; chronic heart disease; chronic lung disease; cochlear implant; diabetes mellitus; immunocompromising conditions (chronic renal failure or nephrotic syndrome; congenital or acquired asplenia or splenic dysfunction; congenital or acquired immunodeficiencies; diseases and conditions treated with immunosuppressive drugs or radiation therapy, including malignant neoplasms, leukemias, lymphomas, Hodgkin disease, and solid organ transplant; HIV infection; and sickle cell disease and other hemoglobinopathies).
**V114 is the name used for Merck’s investigational 15-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine candidate
Table 2: Outcomes and Rankings
Outcome | Importance* | Included in evidence profile |
---|---|---|
Vaccine-type invasive pneumococcal disease | Critical | No** |
Vaccine-type pneumonia | Critical | No** |
Vaccine-type acute otitis media | Critical | No** |
Vaccine-type pneumococcal deaths | Critical | No** |
Serious adverse events following immunization | Critical | Yes |
*Three options: 1. Critical; 2. Important but not critical; 3. Not important for decision making
**No clinical evidence available; immunogenicity data used as proxy for vaccine effectiveness of outcomes
Table 3a. Summary of Studies Reporting Immunogenicity
Author, year | Study design; population and age | Intervention | N intervention | N comparison | Comparator vaccine | IgG GMC ratios [range (serotype)]1 | Absolute difference in % seroresponders (serotype)2 | Interpretation | Study limitations (Risk of Bias) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Platt, 2020 (V114-008) |
Phase 2 RCT (proof of concept); healthy children, 6––12 weeks | PCV15 3+1 (2,4, 6, 12––15m) |
350 (Lot 1) 347 (Lot 2) |
347 | PCV13 | Post-dose 3 Lot 1: 0.54 (6A) to 1.98 (3) Lot 2: 0.57 (6A) to 1.93 (3) Post-dose 4 Lot 1: 0.67 (7F) to 1.44 (3) Lot 2: 0.66 (6A) to 1.48 (3) |
Post-dose 3 Lot 1: -5.6 (6A) to 24.3 (3) Lot 2: -0.8 (19F) to 22.4 (3) Post-dose 4 Lot 1: -1.1 (23F) to 8.6 (3) Lot 2: 0 (4, 5, 6A, 7F, 9V, 14, 18C) to 9.6 (3) |
GMC ratios Post-dose 3
Post-dose 4
%seroresponders
Post-dose 4
|
Not serious |
V114-029 Merck, unpublished |
Phase 3 RCT (pivotal study); healthy children, 42––90 days | PCV15 3+1 (2,4, 6, 12–15m); co-administration Pentacel, RECOMBIVAX HB, RotaTeq |
858 | 856 | PCV13 | Post-dose 3: 0.52 (6A) to 1.73 (3) Post-dose 4: 0.60 (6A) to 1.35 (3) |
Post-dose 3 -5 (6A) to 16 (3) Post-dose 4 Not reported |
GMC ratios Post-dose 3
Post-dose 4
%seroresponders
Post-dose 4
|
Not serious |
V114-027 Merck, unpublished |
Phase 3 RCT (product interchangeability); healthy children, 42–90 days | Group 2: PCV13 + PCV13 + PCV13 + PCV15 | 181 | 179 | Group 1: PCV13 @ 2,4,6, 12–15m | 0.83 (1) to 1.51 (18C) | 0 (6A, 7F, 9V, 14, 19F) to 6.5 (23F) | GMC ratio (post-dose 4):
% seroresponders (post-dose 3):
|
Not serious |
Group 3: PCV13 + PCV13 + PCV15 + PCV15 | 178 | 179 | Group 1: PCV13 @ 2,4,6, 12–15m | 0.84 (4 and 19A) to 1.44 (18C) | -4.9 (4) to 5.9 (3) | GMC ratio (post-dose 4):
% seroresponders (post-dose 3):
|
|||
Group 4: PCV13 + PCV15 + PCV15 + PCV15 | 179 | 179 | Group 1: PCV13 @ 2,4,6, 12–15m | 0.77 (23F) to 1.08 (6B) | -91.4 (23F) to 8.7 (3 and 6B) | GMC ratio (post-dose 4):
% seroresponders (post-dose 3):
|
|||
Group 5: PCV15 @ 2,4,6, 12–15m | 179 | 179 | Group 1: PCV13 @ 2,4,6, 12–15m | 0.67 (7F) to 1.22 (3) | -4.7 (19A) to 20.7 (3) | GMC ratio (post-dose 4):
% seroresponders (post-dose 3):
|
|||
V114-024 Merck, unpublished |
Phase 3 RCT (catch up); heathy children, 7 months – 17 years | PCV15 (7–11m: 3 doses (dose 1 @ 0w, dose 2 @ 4–8w PD1, dose 3 @ 8–12w PD2 AND >12m)) | 64 | 64 | PCV13 (3 doses) | 0.52 (6A) to 1.55 (3) | -3.3 (6A and 6B) to 3.4 (3) | GMC ratio (post-dose 3):
% seroresponders (post-dose 3):
|
Not serious |
PCV15 (12–23m: 2 doses (dose 1 @ 0w, dose 2 @ 4–8w PD1)) | 62 | 64 | PCV13 (2 doses) | 0.54 (6A) to 1.76 (3) | -11.1 (6A) to 8.2 (3) | GMC ratio (post-dose 2):
% seroresponders (post-dose 2):
|
|||
PCV15 (2–17y: 1 dose (>8w after previous PCV) | 177 | 175 | PCV13 (1 dose) | 0.48 (4) to 1.60 (18C) | -1.2 (4) to 8 (3) | GMC ratio (post-dose 1):
% seroresponders (post-dose 1):
|
RCT = randomized controlled trial; GMC = Geometric Mean Concentration; st = serotype; PCV15 > PCV13 = PCV15 had higher immune responses compared to PCV13
- Ratio calculated as [GMC (PCV15)]/[GMC (comparator vaccine)]; blood draws occurred 30 days or 1 month post-dose.
- Seroresponse: proportion of participants meeting IgG threshold value of >=0.35μg/mL; blood draws occurred 30 days or 1 month post-dose.
- The statistical criterion for noninferiority corresponds to the lower bound of the adjusted 95% confidence interval (CI) of the proportion difference (V114 − PCV13) being greater than −0.15 for each of the 13 shared serotypes.
- Noninferiority requires the lower bound of the 2-sided 95% CI for IgG GMC ratio (V114/PCV13) to be >0.5 (1-sided p-value <0.025)
- Noninferiority requires the lower bound of the 2-sided 95% CI for the difference in response rates (V114 –PCV13) to be >-10 percentage points (1-sided p-value <0.025)
Table 3b. Summary of Studies Reporting Safety
Author, year | Study Design; population and age | N intervention | N comparison | Comparator vaccine | Absolute % difference (% SAE PCV15 – % SAE comparator)* |
N related to vaccine | Study limitations (Risk of Bias) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Platt, 2020 (V114-008) |
Phase 2 RCT (proof of concept); healthy children, 6–12 weeks | 697 (lots 1 and 2 combined) | 347 | PCV13 | 1 | 2 | Not serious | |
V114-029 Merck, unpublished |
Phase 3 RCT (pivotal study); healthy children, 42–90 days | 858 | 855 | PCV13 | 0.8 | 0 | Not serious | |
V114-027 Merck, unpublished |
Phase 3 RCT (product interchangeability); healthy children, 42–90 days | Group 2: PCV13 + PCV13 + PCV13 + PCV15 (booster) | 181 | 179 | Group 1: PCV13 @ 2,4,6, 12–15m | 1.6 | 0 | Not serious |
Group 3: PCV13 + PCV13 + PCV15 + PCV15 | 178 | 179 | Group 1: PCV13 @ 2,4,6, 12–15m | -3.3** | 1** | |||
Group 4: PCV13 + PCV15 + PCV15 + PCV15 | 179 | 179 | Group 1: PCV13 @ 2,4,6, 12–15m | -1.6 | 0 | |||
Group 5: PCV15 @ 2,4,6, 12–15m | 179 | 179 | Group 1: PCV13 @ 2,4,6, 12–15m | 0 | 0 | |||
V114-024 Merck, unpublished |
Phase 3 RCT (catch up); heathy children, 7 months – 17 years | PCV15 (7–11m: 3 doses (dose 1 @ 0w, dose 2 @ 4–8w PD1, dose 3 @ 8–12w PD2 AND >12m)) | 64 | 64 | PCV13 (3 doses) | 3.1 | 0 | Not serious |
PCV15 (12–23m: 2 doses (dose 1 @ 0w, dose 2 @ 4–8w PD1)) | 62 | 64 | PCV13 (2 doses) | 0.2 | 0 | |||
PCV15 (2–17y: 1 dose (>8w after previous PCV)) | 177 | 175 | PCV13 (1 dose) | 0 | 0 | |||
V114-031 Merck, unpublished |
Phase 3 RCT, full-term v. preterm infants, 41 – 90 days | 1965 | 433 | PCV13 | -0.6 | 2 | Not serious |
SAE = Serious adverse event following immunization; RCT = randomized controlled trial; PCV13 = 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine; PCV15 = 15-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine
*Reported serious adverse events include those that occurred after dose 1 through completion of study participation.
** SAE that occurred in Group 3 occurred after the second PCV13 dose. Merck data on file, P027 clinical study report section 16.2.7.1.3: listing of participants with serious adverse events. Charlotte, NC: Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC; 2021
Table 4. Grade Summary of Findings Table
Certainty assessment | № of patients | Results | Certainty | Importance | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
№ of studies | Study design | Risk of bias | Inconsistency | Indirectness | Imprecision | Other considerations | PCV15 Intervention |
PCV13 comparison |
Relative (95% CI) |
Absolute (95% CI) |
||
Vaccine effectiveness: vaccine-type pneumococcal disease (assessed with immunogenicity data) | ||||||||||||
41-4 | Randomized studies | Not serious | Not serious | Seriousa | Not serious | Not serious | 2575 | 1685 | PCV15 noninferior to PCV13 for all 13 shared serotypes; statistically significantly higher immune response for st3
PCV15 statistically significantly higher immune responses to PCV13 for 22F and 33F (unique st) |
2 | Critical | |
Serious adverse events following immunization | ||||||||||||
51-5 | Randomized studies | Not serious | Not serious | Very seriousb | Not serious | Not serious | 4/4540 | 0/2117 | 1.7 (0.19, 14.2)c | -- | 3 | Critical |
No = number; PCV15 = 15-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine; PCV13 = 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine; st = serotype
a. These are all immunogenicity studies and there are no correlates of protection for some critical outcomes considered
b. Few vaccine-related serious adverse events reported; wide 95% CI of the relative risk cannot exclude the potential for increased harm or benefit
c. Pooled estimate is based on V114-008 and V114-031 that had SAE reported. V114-027 was not included in the pooled estimate, since the SAE occurred in a group that received PCV15, but after receipt of PCV13 doses. Merck data on file, P027 clinical study report section 16.2.7.1.3: listing of participants with serious adverse events. Charlotte, NC: Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC; 2021
Table 5. Summary of Evidence for Outcomes of Interest
Outcome | Importance | Included in profile | Certainty |
---|---|---|---|
VT- invasive pneumococcal disease | Critical | No* | 2 |
VT- pneumonia | Critical | No* | 2 |
Vaccine-type acute otitis media | Critical | No* | 2 |
Vaccine-type pneumococcal deaths | Critical | No* | 2 |
Serious adverse events following immunization | Critical | Yes | 3 |
*No clinical evidence available; immunogenicity data used as proxy for vaccine effectiveness of outcomes
Summary
The evidence type for use of PCV15 in children aged <2 years was determined to be 2 (moderate certainty of evidence) for VT-invasive pneumococcal disease, VT-pneumonia, VT-acute otitis media, and VT- pneumococcal deaths and was downgraded once for indirectness due to lack of correlates of protection for the critical outcomes considered. The evidence type for serious adverse events following immunization was 3 (low certainty of evidence); the evidence level for imprecision was downgraded two points to very serious for few vaccine-related serious adverse events reported and for the relative risk crossing 1. ACIP reviewed the results of both the GRADE evidence assessment and the Evidence to Recommendations (EtR) framework in February 2022. An updated EtR table was shared with ACIP in June 2022. On June 22, 2022, ACIP recommended use of PCV15 as an option for pneumococcal conjugate vaccination for persons aged <19 years according to currently recommended PCV13 dosing and schedules.
References
Loo JD, Conklin L, Deloria Knoll M, Fleming-Dutra K, et al. Methods for a Systematic Review of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Dosing Schedules. PIDJ. 2014; 33(1,S2); S182-S187.
Cohen OG. Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) Product Assessment. Accessed August 2, 2021 at https://www.jhsph.edu/ivac/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/pcv-product-assessment-april-25-2017.pdf.
Platt HL, Greenberg D, Tapiero B, Clifford RA, Klein NP, Hurley DC. A Phase II Trial of Safety, Tolerability and Immunogenicity of V114, a 15-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine, Compared With 13-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine in Healthy Infants. Pediatric Infectious Diseases Journal 2020.
V114-029. Safety, Tolerability, and Immunogenicity of V114 in Healthy Infants (V114-029)
V114-027. A Study to Evaluate the Interchangeability of V114 and Prevnar 13™ in Healthy Infants (V114-027/PNEU-DIRECTION)
V114-024. Safety and Immunogenicity of Catch-up Vaccination Regimens of V114 (V114-024)
V114-031. A Study to Evaluate the Safety and Tolerability of V114 and Prevnar 13™ in Healthy Infants (V114-031/PNEU-LINK)
Appendices
Appendix 1. Search strategy
Database | Strategy | Run Date | Records |
---|---|---|---|
Medline (OVID) 1946– |
(((pneumococcal OR pneumococci OR streptococcus pneumoni* OR s? pneumoni*) ADJ5 (vaccin* OR immunization* OR immunisation*)) OR pneumovax OR pnu immune vaccine* OR pnuimmune vaccine* OR ppv23 OR “ppv 23” OR “23 valent” OR “23valent”) AND Exp Child/ OR (Child* OR pediatric* OR paediatric*).ti,ab,kf,hw. AND Trial* OR study OR studies OR rct* OR review.ti,pt. Limit English; 2010 – |
10/20/2021 | 2864 |
Embase (OVID) 1988– |
(((pneumococcal OR pneumococci OR streptococcus pneumoni* OR s? pneumoni*) ADJ5 (vaccin* OR immunization* OR immunisation*)) OR pneumovax OR pnu immune vaccine* OR pnuimmune vaccine* OR ppv23 OR “ppv 23” OR “23 valent” OR “23valent”) AND Exp Child/ OR (Child* OR pediatric* OR paediatric*).ti,ab,kw,hw. AND Trial* OR study OR studies OR rct* OR review.ti,pt. NOT exp animal/ NOT exp human/Limit English; 2010 – ; not pubmed/medline ; not conference abstracts |
10/20/2021 | 3236
-2304 =932 |
Cochrane Library | [mh “pneumococcal vaccines”] OR (((pneumococcal OR pneumococci OR streptococcus pneumoni* OR s? pneumoni*) ADJ5 (vaccin* OR immunization* OR immunisation*)) OR pneumovax OR pnu immune vaccine* OR pnuimmune vaccine* OR ppv23 OR “ppv 23” OR “23 valent” OR “23valent”):ti,ab AND [mh Child] OR (Child* OR pediatric* OR paediatric*):ti,abLimit English; 2010 – |
10/20/2021 | 331
-192 =139 |
CINAHL (EbscoHost) |
(((pneumococcal OR pneumococci OR “streptococcus pneumoni*” OR “s? pneumoni*”) N5 (vaccin* OR immunization* OR immunisation*)) OR pneumovax OR “pnu immune vaccine*” OR “pnuimmune vaccine*” OR ppv23 OR “ppv 23” OR “23 valent” OR “23valent”) AND (Child* OR pediatric* OR paediatric*) Limit English; 2010 – ; exclude Medline records |
10/20/2021 | 345
-267 =78 |
Scopus | TITLE-ABS-KEY(((pneumococcal OR pneumococci OR “streptococcus pneumoni*” OR “s? pneumoni*”) W/5 (vaccin* OR immunization* OR immunisation*)) OR pneumovax OR “pnu immune vaccine*” OR “pnuimmune vaccine*” OR ppv23 OR “ppv 23” OR “23 valent” OR “23valent”) AND TITLE-ABS-KEY(Child* OR pediatric* OR paediatric*) AND NOT INDEX(medline) Limit English; 2010 – ; |
10/20/2021 | 682
-492 =190 |
Appendix 2. Studies Included in the Review of Evidence
Author, year | Study design | Intervention | Country | Age | Total population | N Intervention | N comparison | Outcomes | Funding source |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Platt, 2020 (V114-008) |
Phase 2 RCT (proof of concept); healthy children | PCV15 3+1 (2,4, 6, 12–15m) |
Canada, Denmark, Finland, Israel, Spain, US | 6–12 weeks at enrollment | 1044 | 350 (Lot 1) 347 (Lot 2) |
347 | Immunogenicity, safety | Merck |
V114-029 Merck, unpublished |
Phase 3 RCT (pivotal study); healthy children | PCV15 3+1 (2,4, 6, 12–15m); co-administration Pentacel, RECOMBIVAX HB, RotaTeq |
Puerto Rico, Thailand, Turkey, US | 42–90 days at enrollment | 1714 | 858 | 856 | Immunogenicity, safety | Merck |
V114-027 Merck, unpublished |
Phase 3 RCT (product interchangeability); healthy children | Group 1: PCV13 @ 2,4,6, 12–15m Group 2: PCV13 + PCV13 + PCV13 + PCV15 (booster) Group 3: PCV13 + PCV13 + PCV15 + PCV15 (booster) Group 4: PCV13 + PCV15 + PCV15 + PCV15 (booster) Group 5: PCV15 @ 2,4,6, 12–15m |
Puerto Rico, Thailand, Turkey, US | 42–90 days at enrollment | 896 | Group 2 (n=181) Group 3 (n=178) Group 4 (n=179) Group 5 (n=179) |
Group 1 (n=179) | Immunogenicity, safety | Merck |
V114-024 Merck, unpublished |
Phase 3 RCT (catch up); healthy children | 7–11m: 3 doses (dose 1 @ 0w, dose 2 @ 4–8w PD1, dose 3 @ 8–12w PD2 AND >12m 12–23m: 2 doses (dose 1 @ 0w, dose 2 @ 4–8w PD1) 2–17y: 1 dose (>8w after previous PCV) |
Finland, Malaysia, Poland, Russia, Thailand | 7 months – 17 years | 606 | 2–11m (n=64) 12–23m (n=62) 2–17y (n=177) |
2–11m (n=64) 12–23m (n=64) 2–17y (n=175) |
Immunogenicity, safety | Merck |
V114-031 Merck, unpublished |
Phase 3 RCT, full-term v. preterm infants | PCV15 3+1 (2,4, 6, 12–15m) |
Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Israel, Malaysia, Peru, Taiwan, Thailand, US | Full-term (>37 wks) and preterm infants (<37 wks); 42–90 days at enrollment | 2398 | 1965 | 433 | safety | Merck |
RCT = randomized controlled trial; PCV13 = 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine; PCV15 = 15-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine