Post-Marketing Surveillance of Hepatitis A Virus Vaccine (Avaxim(®) 160U) in South Korea from 2011 to 2015

INTRODUCTION: Hepatitis A, caused by hepatitis A virus (HAV), is one of the leading causes of acute hepatitis in South Korea. Avaxim(®) 160U is an inactivated hepatitis A vaccine that has been proven to be highly effective and well tolerated. It is licensed for use in more than 90 countries, and was approved for use in South Korea in 2011. Clinical trial and approval processes may not fully assess the safety and efficacy of a vaccine. Post-marketing surveillance (PMS) aims to provide a complete safety profile of a vaccine in a real-life setting. PMS trials are mandatory in South Korea to retain drug licensure. METHODS: This post-marketing observational study (NCT01838070) was conducted over 4 years at 16 centres in South Korea, and aimed to observe and record all types of adverse events (AE) occurring in an adult population after vaccination with Avaxim(®) 160U. This included solicited events, unsolicited non-serious events, unexpected events and serious events. RESULTS: Case report forms were collected from 614 vaccinees, all of whom completed 30 days of follow-up post-vaccination, of whom 36 (5.9%) experienced 53 solicited and unsolicited AEs, 17 (2.8%) experienced 22 of the solicited AEs, while there were no reports of AEs of severe intensity. A total of 31 unsolicited AEs were reported in 22 patients (3.6%), and no unexpected adverse drug reactions were reported. CONCLUSION: No new safety issues were identified and the safety profile obtained from this study was comparable to that of previous studies for HAV vaccine. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier, NCT01838070. FUNDING: Sanofi Pasteur.