20-valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Approved for Infants and Children

In the United States, there remains a considerable burden of disease attributed to serotypes not included in currently approved pneumococcal conjugate vaccines.

To address this need, Pfizer Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved PREVNAR 20® for the prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) caused by the 20 Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes contained in the vaccine in infants and children six weeks through 17 years of age.

And for preventing otitis media in infants six weeks through five years of age caused by the original seven serotypes contained in PREVNAR®.

"Today's FDA approval of our vaccine, PREVNAR 20, now offers parents the ability to help protect their children against 20 pneumococcal serotypes in circulation, which represent the majority of pneumococcal disease in U.S. infants and children," said Annaliesa Anderson, Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer, Vaccine Research and Development, Pfizer, in a press release on April 27, 2023.

"This important PREVNAR 20 approval builds on more than 20 years of real-world impact with PREVNAR and PREVNAR 13, safety data, and effectiveness, highlighting Pfizer's leadership in developing groundbreaking pneumococcal conjugate vaccines to help protect infants and their families from life-threatening infections."

Pneumococcal vaccine news is posted by Precision Vaccinations.