Efficacy and correlates of protection for cell culture-derived and egg-derived inactivated influenza vaccines in younger adults

Abstract

Evaluation of: Barrett PN, Berezuk G, Fritsch S et al. Efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity of a Vero-cell-culture-derived trivalent influenza vaccine: a multicentre, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet 377(9767), 751–759 (2011).

The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled efficacy study by Barrett et al. demonstrated the efficacy of cell culture-derived trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (TIV), as manufactured by Baxter BioScience, in healthy adults 18–49 years of age. Efficacy and safety was comparable to that demonstrated by other recent randomized, placebo-controlled studies of cell culture-derived and egg-derived TIV in younger adults. The principal advantage of cell culture manufacturing of influenza vaccine relates to pandemic preparedness, although some advantages exist for seasonal vaccine production. The Barrett study confirmed a correlation between anti-hemagglutinin serum antibody and protection from influenza. However, further analysis of the correlation appears warranted in the Barrett study and in future studies to better describe antibody-induced and vaccine-induced protection from influenza illness.

Keywords::

• antibody
• correlate of protection
• efficacy
• inactivated vaccine
• influenza

Acknowledgement

Christopher Ambrose would like to thank Andrew Dunning of Sanofi Pasteur for significant contributions to statistical aspects of this article, including the evaluation of methods appropriate for evaluating correlates of protection.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

Christopher Ambrose is an employee of MedImmune and was invited by the journal to author this article. MedImmune is a developer and manufacturer of vaccines, including influenza vaccines. The author has 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.

Writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript. Formatting of the manuscript was provided by Complete Healthcare Communication, Inc. (Chadds Ford, PA, USA) and funded by MedImmune.