More than a year after picking up the shot from GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer has won a label expansion in Europe for its MenACWY conjugate vaccine Nimenrix. It’s now the only such vaccine available on the continent for those starting at 6 weeks of age.
The new label gives Nimenrix “the broadest age indication of any conjugate vaccine in Europe” against the Neisseria meningitidis serogroups A, C, W-135, and Y, Pfizer Chief Medical and Scientific Affairs Officer Luis Jodar said in a statement.
GSK originally launched Nimenrix back in 2012 for people 1 and older. Now, the first dose can be given after six weeks of age in Europe, with another two months later and a booster dose at 12 months.
The label expansion was based off a phase 3 study testing the vaccine in more than 1,000 infants, Pfizer said.
Back in 2015, Glaxo sold the shot—along with another MenACWY vaccine—to Pfizer for $130 million as it worked to close its purchase of Novartis’ stall of vaccines. That transaction boosted GSK to the top of the vaccines world, a position it’s expected to keep through 2022, according to EvaluatePharma.
But as Pfizer experiences a slowdown for its top shot, the pneumococcal disease blocker Prevnar 13, the company has worked to diversify its vaccines offerings through external deals, R&D and M&A. Last week, it backed cancer vax startup Ignite with an option to purchase the company if the work proves promising.