Clinical Pharmacology for MenQuadfi
Mechanism Of Action
Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) is caused by the bacterium N. meningitidis, a gram-negative diplococcus found exclusively in humans. The presence of bactericidal anti-capsular meningococcal antibodies in serum has been associated with protection from IMD. MenQuadfi induces the production of bactericidal antibodies specific to the capsular polysaccharides of N. meningitidis serogroups A, C, W, and Y.
Clinical Studies
To infer effectiveness of MenQuadfi, the immunogenicity in persons 2 years of age and older was evaluated using a serogroup-specific serum bactericidal assay with exogenous human complement (hSBA). The hSBA responses following a single dose of MenQuadfi for primary vaccination were assessed in four studies, and the hSBA responses following a single dose of MenQuadfi for booster vaccination were assessed in two studies. The hSBA responses following a single dose of MenQuadfi were also assessed in one study that enrolled a group of participants who had received a prior dose of meningococcal polysaccharide vaccine. Serum was collected at baseline and 30 days post-vaccination to measure antibodies with hSBA. The hSBA geometric mean titers (GMTs) and proportion of participants who achieved hSBA seroresponse (defined below) were evaluated.
- Seroresponse rate for each serogroup: the proportion of participants with an hSBA
- pre-vaccination titer < 1:8 who achieved a post-vaccination titer ≥ 1:16, or
- pre-vaccination titer ≥ 1:8 who achieved a post-vaccination titer at least 4-fold greater than the pre-vaccination titer.
Primary Vaccination
Immunogenicity In Children 2 Through 9 Years Of Age
Immunogenicity of MenQuadfi compared to Menveo in participants 2 through 9 years of age was evaluated in Study 1 (NCT03077438). The hSBA seroresponse rate and GMTs are presented in Table 7.
Immune non-inferiority, based on seroresponse rates, was demonstrated for MenQuadfi as compared to Menveo for all four serogroups.
Table 7: Comparison of Bactericidal Antibody Responses to MenQuadfi and Menveo 30 Days after Vaccination of Participants 2 through 9 Years of Age (Study 1)*
| Endpointf |
MenQuadfi (95% CI) |
Menveo (95% CI) |
Percent difference MenQuadfi minus Menveo‡ (95% CI) |
| A |
N=455-456 |
N=458 |
|
| % Participants achieving Seroresponse |
55.4
(50.7; 60.0) |
47.8
(43.2; 52.5) |
7.6
(1.1, 14.0) |
| GMT |
25
(22; 28) |
23
(20; 26) |
|
| C |
N=458 |
N=458-459 |
|
| % Participants achieving Seroresponse |
95.2
(92.8; 97.0) |
47.8
(43.2; 52.5) |
47.4
(42.2, 52.2) |
| GMT |
238
(209; 270) |
17.0
(14; 20) |
|
| W |
N=458 |
N=459 |
|
| % Participants achieving Seroresponse |
78.8
(74.8; 82.5) |
64.1
(59.5; 68.4) |
14.8
(8.9, 20.5) |
| GMT |
38
(34; 42) |
26
(23; 30) |
|
| Y |
N=458 |
N=459 |
|
| % Participants achieving Seroresponse |
91.5
(88.5; 93.9) |
79.3
(75.3; 82.9) |
12.2
(7.7, 16.7) |
| GMT |
69
(61; 77) |
44
(38; 50) |
|
* Clinical trial identifier NCT03077438
† Seroresponse rate (primary endpoint) for each serogroup: the proportion of participants with an hSBA pre-vaccination titer < 1:8 who achieved a post-vaccination titer ≥ 1:16, or pre-vaccination titer ≥ 1:8 who achieved a post-vaccination titer at least 4-fold greater than the pre-vaccination titer.
‡ Overall non-inferiority would be demonstrated if the lower limit of the 2-sided 95% CI is > -10% for all four serogroups.
N: number of participants in per-protocol analysis set with valid serology results.
95% CI of the single proportion calculated from the exact binomial method.
95% CI of the difference calculated from the Wilson Score method without continuity correction. |
Immunogenicity In Adolescents 10 Through 17 Years Of Age
Immunogenicity of MenQuadfi compared to Menveo in participants 10 through 17 years of age was evaluated in Study 2 (NCT02199691). Study 2 was conducted in healthy meningococcal vaccine naïve participants and evaluated seroresponse rates following administration with either MenQuadfi alone, Menveo alone, MenQuadfi co-administered with Tdap, and HPV, or Tdap and HPV alone. The hSBA seroresponse rate and GMTs for Study 2 are presented in Table 8.
Immune non-inferiority, based on seroresponse, was demonstrated for MenQuadfi as compared to Menveo for all four serogroups.
Study 2 (NCT02199691) was conducted in healthy meningococcal vaccine naïve male and female participants and evaluated seroresponses following administration with either MenQuadfi alone; Menveo alone; MenQuadfi co-administered with Tdap, and HPV; or Tdap and HPV alone. The hSBA seroresponse rate and GMTs for the MenQuadfi alone and Menveo alone groups are presented in Table 8.
Table 8: Comparison of Bactericidal Antibody Responses to MenQuadfi and Menveo 30 Days after Vaccination of Participants 10 through 17 Years of Age (Study 2)*
| Endpoint† |
MenQuadfi (95% CI) |
Menveo (95% CI) |
Percent difference MenQuadfi minus Menveo‡ (95% CI) |
| A |
N=463 |
N=464 |
|
| % |
70.2 |
60.3 |
9.8 |
| Participants achieving Seroresponse |
(65.8; 74.3) |
(55.7; 64.8) |
(3.7;15.9) |
| GMT |
44 (39; 50) |
35 (30; 41) |
|
| C |
N=462 |
N=463 |
|
| % |
96.1 |
61.6 |
34.5 |
| Participants achieving Seroresponse |
(93.9, 97.7) |
(57.0, 66.0) |
(29.7; 39.3) |
| GMT |
387 (329; 456) |
51 (41; 64) |
|
| W |
N=463 |
N=464 |
|
| % |
84.2 |
56.0 |
28.2 |
| Participants achieving Seroresponse |
(80.6; 87.4) |
(51.4; 60.6) |
(22.5; 33.7) |
| GMT |
87 (78; 97) |
36 (32; 41) |
|
| Y |
N=462-463 |
N=464 |
|
| % |
91.1 |
66.8 |
24.3 |
| Participants achieving Seroresponse |
(88.2; 93.6) |
(62.3;71.1) |
(19.2; 29.3) |
| GMT |
76 |
28 |
|
|
(66; 87) |
(24; 32) |
|
* Clinical trial identifier NCT02199691
† Seroresponse rate (primary endpoint) for each serogroup: the proportion of participants with an hSBA pre-vaccination titer < 1:8 who achieved a post-vaccination titer ≥ 1:16, or pre-vaccination titer ≥ 1:8 who achieved a post-vaccination titer at least 4-fold greater than the pre-vaccination titer.
‡ Overall non-inferiority would be demonstrated if the lower limit of the 2-sided 95% CI is > -10% for all four serogroups.
N: number of participants in per-protocol analysis set with valid serology results.
95% CI of the single proportion calculated from the exact binomial method.
95% CI of the difference calculated from the Wilson Score method without continuity correction. |
Study 3 evaluated the immunogenicity of MenQuadfi (N=1097-1098) compared to Menactra (N=300) in healthy meningococcal-naïve participants 10 through 17 years of age. Seroresponse rates for MenQuadfi were noninferior to those of Menactra for all serogroups based on the same non-inferiority criteria defined for Study 2.
Immunogenicity In Adults 18 Through 55 Years Of Age
Immunogenicity of MenQuadfi compared to Menactra in participants 18 through 55 years of age was evaluated in Study 3 (NCT02842853). The hSBA seroresponse rate and GMTs are presented in Table 9.
Immune non-inferiority, based on seroresponse rates, was demonstrated for MenQuadfi as compared to Menactra for all four serogroups.
Table 9: Comparison of Bactericidal Antibody Responses to MenQuadfi and Menactra 30 Days after Vaccination of Participants 18 through 55 Years of Age (Study 3)*
| Endpoint† |
MenQuadfi (95% CI) |
Menactra (95% CI) |
Percent difference MenQuadfi minus Menactra‡ (95% CI) |
| A |
N=1,406-1,408 |
N=293 |
|
| % Participants achieving Seroresponse |
73.5
(71.2; 75.8) |
53.9
(48.0; 59.7) |
19.6
(13.5; 25.8) |
| GMT |
106
(97; 117) |
52
(43; 64) |
|
| C |
N=1,406-1,408 |
N=293 |
|
| % Participants |
83.4 |
42.3 |
41.1 |
| achieving Seroresponse |
(81.4; 85.3) |
(36.6; 48.2) |
(35.0; 46.9) |
| GMT |
234 |
37 |
|
|
(210; 261) |
(29; 49) |
|
| W |
N=1,408-1,410 |
N=293 |
|
| % Participants |
77.0 |
50.2 |
26.8 |
| achieving Seroresponse |
(74.7; 79.2) |
(44.3; 56.0) |
(20.7; 32.9) |
| GMT |
76 |
33 |
|
|
(69; 83) |
(26; 42) |
|
| Y |
N=1,408-1,410 |
N=293 |
|
| % Participants |
88.1 |
60.8 |
27.4 |
| achieving Seroresponse |
(86.3; 89.8) |
(54.9; 66.4) |
(21.7; 33.3) |
| GMT |
219 |
55 |
|
|
(200; 239) |
(42; 70) |
|
* Clinical trial identifier NCT02842853
† Seroresponse rate (primary endpoint) for each serogroup: the proportion of participants with an hSBA pre-vaccination titer < 1:8 who achieved a post-vaccination titer ≥ 1:16, or pre-vaccination titer ≥ 1:8 who achieved a post-vaccination titer at least 4-fold greater than the pre-vaccination titer.
‡ The overall non-inferiority would be demonstrated if the lower limit of the 2-sided 95% CI is > -10% for all four serogroups.
N: number of participants in per-protocol analysis set with valid serology results.
95% CI of the single proportion calculated from the exact binomial method.
95% CI of the difference calculated from the Wilson Score method without continuity correction. |
Immunogenicity In Adults 56 Years Of Age And Older
Immunogenicity of MenQuadfi compared to Menomune in participants 56 years and older was evaluated in Study 4 (NCT02842866).
Enrollment was stratified by age category: 56 through 64 years of age (44.3%), 65 through 74 years of age (39.7%), and 75 years of age and older (15.9%). The overall mean age of participants who received MenQuadfi was 66.9 years; range: 56 through 89.8 years of age. The mean age for participants in the 56 through 64 years age stratum who received MenQuadfi was 60.4 years, the mean age for participants ≥ 65 years age stratum who received MenQuadfi was 72.2 years.
The hSBA seroresponse rate and GMTs are presented in Table 10.
Immune non-inferiority, based on seroresponse rates, was demonstrated for MenQuadfi as compared to Menomune for all four serogroups.
Table 10: Comparison of Bactericidal Antibody Responses to MenQuadfi and Menomune in Naïve Older Adults and Elderly 30 Days after Vaccination (Study 4)*
| Endpoint† |
MenQuadfi (95% CI) |
Menomune (95% CI) |
Percent difference MenQuadfi minus Menomune‡ (95% CI) |
| A |
N=433 |
N=431 |
|
| % Participants |
58.2 |
42.5 |
15.7 |
| achieving Seroresponse |
(53.4; 62.9) |
(37.7; 47.3) |
(9.08; 22.2) |
| GMT |
55 |
31 |
|
|
(47; 65) |
(27; 37) |
|
| C |
N=433 |
N=431 |
|
| % Participants |
77.1 |
49.7 |
27.5 |
| achieving Seroresponse |
(72.9; 81.0) |
(44.8; 54.5) |
(21.2; 33.5) |
| GMT |
101 |
25 |
|
|
(84; 123) |
(21; 30) |
|
| W |
N=433 |
N=431 |
|
| % Participants |
62.6 |
44.8 |
17.8 |
| achieving Seroresponse |
(57.8; 67.2) |
(40.0; 49.6) |
(11.2; 24.2) |
| GMT |
28 |
15 |
|
|
(24; 33) |
(13; 18) |
|
| Y |
N=433 |
N=431 |
|
| % Participants |
74.4 |
43.4 |
31.0 |
| achieving Seroresponse |
(70.0; 78.4) |
(38.7; 48.2) |
(24.6; 37.0) |
| GMT |
69 |
21 |
|
|
(59; 81) |
(17; 25) |
|
*Clinical trial identifier NCT02842866
† Seroresponse rate (primary endpoint) for each serogroup: the proportion of participants with an hSBA pre-vaccination titer < 1:8 who achieved a post-vaccination titer ≥ 1:16, or pre-vaccination titer ≥ 1:8 who achieved a post-vaccination titer at least 4-fold greater than the pre-vaccination titer.
‡ The overall non-inferiority would be demonstrated if the lower limit of the 2-sided 95% CI is > -10% for all four serogroups.
N: number of participants in per-protocol analysis set with valid serology results.
95% CI of the single proportion calculated from the exact binomial method.
95% CI of the difference calculated from the Wilson Score method without continuity correction. |
Booster Vaccination Following Priming With A Meningococcal Conjugate Vaccine; Vaccination Following A Prior Dose Of A Meningococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine
Immunogenicity In Adolescents And Adults At Least 15 Years Of Age And Older
Immunogenicity of a booster dose of MenQuadfi compared to a booster dose of Menactra was evaluated in Study 5 (NCT02752906). The study-enrolled participants 15 years of age and older who had received a primary dose of Menveo or Menactra 4 to 10 years previously.
Immune non-inferiority, based on seroresponse rates, was demonstrated for MenQuadfi as compared to Menactra for all four serogroups.
For a description of study design and number of participants, see section 6.1 Booster Vaccination Following Priming with a Meningococcal Conjugate Vaccine; Vaccination Following a Prior Dose of a Meningococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine. The primary immunogenicity endpoint was hSBA seroresponse to each serogroup 30 days following booster vaccination with MenQuadfi or Menactra given to participants who received a prior dose of Menveo or Menactra 4 to 10 years ago. The other endpoints included the proportions of participants with post-vaccination hSBA ≥1:8 and the hSBA GMTs for each serogroup. These endpoints were also evaluated at 6 days post vaccination in a subset.
Seroresponse rates at Day 30 following booster vaccination with MenQuadfi were 92.2% for serogroup A, 97.1% for serogroup C, 98.2% for serogroup W, and 97.4% for serogroup Y, as compared to 87.1% for serogroup A, 91.8% for serogroup C, 90.7% for serogroup W, and 95.6% for serogroup Y, following booster vaccination with Menactra. At Day 6, following booster vaccination with MenQuadfi, seroresponse rates were 72.7%, 83.6%, 94.5%, and 90.9% for serogroups A, C, W, and Y, respectively.
The hSBA GMTs were 173, 334, 499, and 302 for serogroups A, C, W, and Y at Day 6, and 497, 2618, 1747, and 2070, respectively, for the 4 serogroups at Day 30 following booster dose of MenQuadfi.
Overall, similar seroresponse rates were observed for those participants who received booster vaccination with Menactra.
Immunogenicity In Adolescents And Adults 13 Through 26 Years Of Age
Immunogenicity of a booster dose of MenQuadfi was evaluated in Study 6 (NCT04084769). The study enrolled participants 13 through 26 years of age who had received a primary dose of MenQuadfi or Menveo 3-6 years previously in Study 2 or Study 3.
For a description of study design and number of participants, see section 6.1 Booster Vaccination Following Priming with a Meningococcal Conjugate Vaccine; Vaccination Following a Prior Dose of a Meningococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine. The primary immunogenicity endpoints were hSBA seroresponse to each serogroup 30 days following a booster vaccination with MenQuadfi given to participants who received a prior dose of MenQuadfi or Menveo 3-6 years previously (Table 11). The other endpoints included hSBA GMTs for each serogroup. These endpoints were also evaluated at 6 days post vaccination in a subset (Per-Protocol Analysis Set 1).
Table 11: Comparison of hSBA Seroresponse Rates 30 Days Following Booster Vaccination with MenQuadfi in Participants 13 through 26 Years of Age Primed with MenQuadfi or Menveo 3-6 Years Previously (Study 6)*
| ‡Endpoint by Serogroup |
MenQuadfi-primed (95% CI)
N=174 |
Menveo-primed (95% CI)
N=176 |
| A |
| % Participants achieving Seroresponse |
94.8 (90.4; 97.6) |
93.2 (88.4; 96.4) |
| C |
| % Participants achieving Seroresponse |
97.1 (93.4; 99.1) |
98.9 (96.0; 99.9) |
| W |
| % Participants achieving Seroresponse |
97.7 (94.2; 99.4) |
98.9 (96.0; 99.9) |
| Y |
| % Participants achieving Seroresponse |
98.9 (95.9; 99.9) |
100 (97.9; 100) |
* Clinical trial identifier NCT04084769
N: number of subjects in Per-Protocol Analysis Set 2 (D30) with valid serology results.
‡Seroresponse rate (primary endpoint) for each serogroup: the proportion of participants with an hSBA pre vaccination titer < 1:8 who achieved a post-vaccination titer ≥ 1:16, or pre-vaccination titer ≥ 1:8 who achieved a post-vaccination titer at least 4-fold greater than the pre-vaccination titer.
Sufficiency of hSBA seroresponse after MenQuadfi vaccination was demonstrated if the lower limit of the 2-sided  95% CI was >75%. |
Seroresponse rates at Day 6 following booster dose with MenQuadfi were 82.6%, 89.1%, 97.8%, and 95.7% for serogroups A, C, W, and Y, respectively, in MenQuadfi-primed participants (N=46) and 77.8%, 93.3%, 88.9%, and 91.1% for serogroups A, C, W, and Y, respectively, in Menveo-primed participants (N=45). Â
Following a booster dose of MenQuadfi, the hSBA GMTs at Day 6 were 289, 3799, 1928, and 1658 for MenQuadfi-primed participants (N=46) and 161, 919, 708, and 800 for Menveo-primed participants (N=45) for serogroups A, C, W, and Y, respectively. At D30, the hSBA GMTs were 502, 3708, 2290, and 2308 for MenQuadfi-primed participants (N=174) and 399, 2533, 2574, and 3036 for Menveo-primed participants (N=176).
Prior to booster vaccination, the percentage of subjects with hSBA titers ≥1:8 for serogroups A, C, W, and Y were 71.3%, 87.9%, 86.2%, and 79.9% for those who received a prior dose of MenQuadfi 3-6 years earlier (N=174), and 71.0%, 50.6%, 77.8%, and 52.8% for those who received a prior dose of Menveo 3-6 years earlier (N=176).
Immunogenicity In Older Adults ≥ 59 Years Of Age
Immunogenicity of a dose of MenQuadfi was evaluated in Study 7 (NCT04142242). The study enrolled participants ≥ 59 years of age who had received a prior dose of MenQuadfi or Menomune at least 3 years previously in Study 4 (NCT02842866).
For a description of study design and number of participants, see section 6.1 Booster Vaccination Following Priming with a Meningococcal Conjugate Vaccine; Vaccination Following a Prior Dose of a Meningococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine. The primary immunogenicity endpoint was hSBA seroresponse to each serogroup 30 days following vaccination with MenQuadfi in participants who had received a prior dose of Menomune 3 years previously. Additionally, hSBA seroresponse 30 days following vaccination with MenQuadfi in MenQuadfi-primed participants was also assessed (Table 12). The other endpoints included the hSBA GMTs for each serogroup. These endpoints were also evaluated at 6 days post vaccination in a subset (Per-Protocol Analysis Set 2).
Table 12: Comparison of hSBA Seroresponse Rates 30 Days Following Vaccination with MenQuadfi in Participants ≥ 59 Years of Age Primed with MenQuadfi or Received a Prior Dose of Menomune At Least 3 Years Previously (Study 7)*
| ‡Endpoint by Serogroup |
MenQuadfi- primed (95% CI) |
Prior dose of Menomune (95% CI) |
| A |
N=145 |
N=130 |
| % Participants achieving Seroresponse |
79.3 (71.8; 85.6) |
60.8 (51.8; 69.2) |
| C |
| % Participants achieving Seroresponse |
93.1 (87.7; 96.6) |
55.0 (46.0; 63.8) |
| W |
| % Participants achieving Seroresponse |
90.3 (84.3; 94.6) |
49.2 (40.4; 58.1) |
| Y |
| % Participants achieving Seroresponse |
92.4 (86.8; 96.2) |
49.2 (40.4; 58.1) |
* Clinical trial identifier NCT04142242
N: number of subjects in Per-Protocol Analysis Set 1 (D30) with valid serology results
‡Seroresponse rate (primary endpoint) for each serogroup: the proportion of participants with an hSBA pre vaccination titer < 1:8 who achieved a post-vaccination titer ≥ 1:16, or pre-vaccination titer ≥ 1:8 who achieved a post-vaccination titer at least 4-fold greater than the pre-vaccination titer. Â
Sufficiency of hSBA seroresponse after MenQuadfi vaccination was demonstrated if the lower limit of the 2-sided  95% CI was >40%. |
Seroresponse rates at Day 6 following vaccination with MenQuadfi were 36.2%, 77.6%, 70.7%, and 72.4% for serogroups A, C, W, and Y, respectively, in MenQuadfi-primed participants (N=58) and 8.1%, 8.1%, 6.5%, and 8.1% for serogroups A, C, W, and Y, respectively, in participants who received a prior dose of Menomune (N=62).
Following vaccination with MenQuadfi, the hSBA GMTs at Day 6 were 44, 206, 118, and 151 for MenQuadfi-primed participants (N=58) and 13, 11, 10, and 11 for participants who received a prior dose of Menomune (N=62) for serogroups A, C, W, and Y, respectively. At D30, the hSBA GMTs were 162, 638, 419, and 566 for MenQuadfi-primed participants (N=145) and 57, 56, 31, and 41 for participants who received a prior dose of Menomune (N=130).
Prior to MenQuadfi vaccination, the percentage of subjects with hSBA titers ≥1:8 for serogroups A, C, W, and Y were 64.8%, 73.8%, 66.9%, and 72.4% for those who received a prior dose of MenQuadfi at least 3 years earlier (N=145), and 65.4%, 49.2%, 40.0%, and 41.5% for those who received a prior dose of Menomune at least 3 years earlier (N=130).
Immunogenicity Of Concomitantly Administered Vaccines
Concomitant administration of MenQuadfi with Tdap and HPV in adolescents 10 through 17 years was evaluated in Study 2 (NCT02199691). In this randomized study, 503 participants received MenQuadfi alone, 392 received MenQuadfi coadministered with Tdap and HPV, 296 received Tdap and HPV alone. A fourth group received Menveo alone (N=501). Â
No evidence of interference in hSBA seroresponse rates was observed when MenQuadfi was coadministered with Tdap and HPV. Antibody responses to HPV, and to the tetanus and diphtheria antigens were similar when Tdap and HPV were administered with and without MenQuadfi. Anti-pertussis GMC responses were non-inferior for the pertussis toxoid antigen, but did not meet non-inferiority for the FHA, PRN, and FIM antigens. The clinical relevance of the diminished responses to the pertussis antigens is unknown.