Comparison of the Safety and Immunogenicity of a Novel Quadrivalent Meningococcal ACWY-Tetanus Toxoid Conjugate Vaccine and a Marketed Quadrivalent Meningococcal ACWY-Diphtheria Toxoid Conjugate Vaccine in Healthy Individuals 10–25 Years of Age

BACKGROUND: Universal immunization of adolescents against meningococcal disease with a quadrivalent meningococcal ACWY (MenACWY) conjugate vaccine is recommended in a number of countries. METHODS: In a randomized, controlled, observer-blinded, multicenter trial, 1016 participants, 10–25 years of age, were randomly allocated 1:1:1 to receive a single dose of 1 of 2 lots of an investigational tetanus toxoid‐conjugated MenACWY vaccine (MenACWY‐TT) or a marketed diphtheria toxoid‐conjugated MenACWY vaccine (MenACWY‐DT). The primary outcome was the noninferiority of the vaccine response after MenACWY‐TT (lot A) compared with MenACWY‐DT for all 4 serogroups. Vaccine response was defined as a postvaccination human serum bactericidal antibody (hSBA) titer against each of the serogroups of at least 1:8 in persons initially seronegative (<1:4) or as a 4‐fold increase in titer pre‐ to postvaccination in persons initially seropositive (≥1:4). Adverse events (AEs) after immunization were measured 4 and 31 days postvaccination. RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 16.3 years; 977 (96.6%) completed the study. The noninferiority of MenACWY‐TT (lot A) to the control vaccine in terms of the percentage of participants with hSBA vaccine response was demonstrated for each serogroup. Vaccine response rates ranged from 51.0% to 82.5% for the 4 serogroups after MenACWY‐TT (both lots) compared with 39.0%–76.3% for the 4 serogroups after MenACWY‐DT. Pain was the most common injection‐site reaction reported by 50.8%–55.4% across the 3 groups. Fatigue and headache were the most common systemic solicited AEs, reported by 27.3%–29.2% and 25.5%–26.4%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Tetanus toxoid‐conjugated MenACWY vaccine was well tolerated and elicited an immune response that was noninferior to that of a marketed MenACWY‐DT (www.clinicaltrials.gov NCT01165242).