Issues and challenges in the development of pneumococcal protein vaccines

Abstract

In view of the increasing licensure and use of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines, the relatively high cost, and growing issues with serotype emergence, there is a need to re-evaluate the role of pneumococcal protein vaccines (PPVs) and pathways to their licensure. This paper summarizes the discussion and viewpoints from an expert meeting regarding the development of PPVs. A wide spectrum of pneumococcal vaccine researchers, developers, and regulators met to review the state of PPVs, identify research and development needs, and provide consensus opinions to support the introduction of new PPVs where possible. They also discussed clinical and regulatory aspects pertinent to these vaccines and generated a series of recommendations for moving the field forward.

Keywords::

• animal models
• pneumococcal vaccine
• protein
• Streptococcus pneumoniae

Acknowledgements

The authors thank J Maisonneuve and K Klugman for advice on the symposium topics and agenda; L Newhouse and C Hilgert for editing the manuscript; and E Jeffers, A Stanfill, and RM Settine for coordinating the logistics of the symposium.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The symposium was supported in part with funds from an NIH contract (AI-30021) to M Nahm. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.