Pfizer: FDA Grants Breakthrough Therapy Designation to Pfizer’s Group B Streptococcus Vaccine Candidate to Help Prevent Infection in Infants Via Immunization of Pregnant Women
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) today announced that its investigational Group B Streptococcus (GBS) vaccine candidate, GBS6 or PF-06760805, received Breakthrough Therapy Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the prevention of invasive GBS disease due to the vaccine serotypes in newborns and young infants by active immunization of their mothers during pregnancy.
The FDA decision is informed by the interim analysis of a placebo-controlled Phase 2 study (NCT03765073), evaluating the safety and immunogenicity of GBS6 in healthy pregnant women aged 18 to 40 years, who were vaccinated during the second or early third trimester of pregnancy. The study remains ongoing, and Pfizer will publish outcomes from this clinical trial when it is completed.
“GBS infections can have a devastating effect on newborns and their families. While prenatal screening and antibiotics during childbirth help provide protection against GBS in developed countries, this approach is not fully protective in the first week of life; presents multiple challenges in low- and middle-income countries; and has not been shown effective in preventing disease globally in infants beyond the first week of life and through the vulnerable first three months of life,” said Annaliesa Anderson, Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Head of Vaccine Research & Development, Pfizer. “If approved for pregnant women, GBS6 could help protect newborns from the serious illnesses caused by this disease like meningitis, pneumonia, and sepsis – fulfilling a critical global public health need. We are encouraged by today’s decision and look forward to discussing GBS6 with the FDA and other regulatory agencies to potentially reduce neonatal deaths and positively impact the existing global disease burden of GBS.”
The FDA’s Breakthrough Therapy Designation is designed to expedite the development and review of drugs and vaccines that are intended to treat or prevent serious conditions, and preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the drug or vaccine may demonstrate substantial improvement over available therapy on a clinically significant endpoint(s).1 This decision follows the FDA’s March 2017 decision to grant Fast Track status to GBS6. Fast Track status is a process designed to facilitate the development and expedite the review of new drugs and vaccines intended to treat or prevent serious conditions and address an unmet medical need.2