Impact of meningococcal group B OMV vaccines, beyond their brief

Abstract

Meningococcal group B outer membrane vesicle vaccines have been used widely in Cuba, New Zealand, and Brazil. They are immunogenic and initially assessed largely by their ability to induce serum bactericidal activity. Measures of efficacy indicate good protection against homologous strains in older children and adults. Effectiveness appears broader than predicted by immunogenicity and efficacy studies. The recent discovery that meningococcal group B OMVs may protect against the related Neisseria species N.gonorrhoeae suggests more to these interesting antigen collections than meets the eye. Currently there are two OMV-containing group B vaccines available, the new recombinant protein-based Bexsero® developed by Novartis and VA-MENGOC-BC® developed by the Finlay institute in Cuba. Also, a third group B vaccine based on two recombinant factor H binding proteins (Trumenba®, Pfizer), has recently been licenced but it does not include OMV. This commentary explores the population impact that group B OMV vaccines have had on meningococcal and gonorrhoea diseases. Given the heterologous effect against diverse strains of the meningococcus observed in older children and adults, and recent evidence to suggest moderate protection against gonorrhoea, there may be a role for these vaccines in programmes targeting adolescents and groups high at risk for both meningococcal disease and gonorrhoea.

The serogroup B meningococcal outer membrane vesicle-based vaccine 4CMenB induces cross-species protection againstNeisseria gonorrhoeae

“…These data are the first controlled evidence in humans in over 40 years that vaccine-induced protection against gonorrhoea is possible. A similar finding was suggested by epidemiological studies on Nm OMV vaccines in Cuba and Norway [27].…”

“…A recent advance in biomedical research was the development of two licensed vaccines that prevent serogroup B Nm invasive disease, one consisting of purified lipoprotein subunits, rLP2086 (Trumenba®, Pfizer), and the other, 4CMenB (Bexsero®, GSK) [43]. The 4CMenB vaccine was proceeded by Nm OMV vaccines that were tailor-made against endemic serogroup B strains in New Zealand, Brazil, Cuba and Norway [27, 43].…”

Cross-protection induced by VA-MENGOC-BC® vaccine

“…The author of “ Commentary: Impact of meningococcal group B OMV vaccines, beyond their brief ” (DOI: 10.1080/21645515.2017.1381810) states that meningococcal group B OMV vaccines –like VA-MENGOC-BC– may induce moderate protection against N. gonorrhoeae . 17 I agree with this point of view. However, the author states that the heterologous effect against diverse strains of meningococcus is limited to older children and adults.…”

Development of vaccines against gonorrhoea, syphilis, chlamydia, herpes simplex virus, human immunodeficiency virus and Zika virus

“…Во время вспышки менингококковой инфекции в 2004-2006 гг. в Новой Зеландии при применении вакцины MeNZB ТМ (как во время, так и после вспышки) наблюдалось одновременное снижение количества зарегистрированных случаев гонореи [3]. На Рисунке 1 показано влияние применения вакцины MeNZB™ на заболеваемость гонореей в трех регионах Новой Зеландии в 2004-2006 гг.…”