MSD's 'BoxNewVance', Using 'Immunogenicity' as a Weapon to Become the Strongest Pneumonia Vaccine

"Although the number of vaccinations is not yet higher than that of the initial 13-valent pneumococcal vaccine, it is at a similar level. Overall, the market share is increasing by double-digit percentages every month." (Jaeyong Cho, Executive Director of Vaccine Business Division, MSD Korea)

MSD's 15-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine 'BoxNewVance'

MSD's pneumococcal vaccine Boxnewance is rapidly expanding its market share in the pediatric pneumococcal vaccine market by emphasizing that it can prevent more types of bacteria compared to existing vaccines without compromising protection against each bacterium.

Jaeyong Cho, Executive Director of MSD Korea, emphasized at the Boxnewance media seminar held on the afternoon of the 6th in Jung-gu, Seoul, that "vaccinations are already being administered at major hospitals including the 'Top 5' hospitals, and vaccine supplies are continuously provided so that most clinics can prescribe it," highlighting that rapid vaccination expansion is underway amid smooth supply.

Boxnewance is a 15-valent vaccine that protects against the largest number of 15 types of bacteria among protein-conjugate vaccines (PCV) pneumococcal vaccines distributed domestically. In addition to the serotypes of the existing domestic highest-valent 13-valent vaccine (PCV13) ? 1, 3, 4, 5, 6A, 6B, 7F, 9V, 14, 18C, 19A, 19F, and 23F ? it has expanded the prevention range by adding serotypes 22F and 33F, which have recently been identified worldwide as major causes of pneumococcal diseases. Since April, it has been included in the National Immunization Program (NIP) for infants and young children, with a total of four free vaccinations administered. Cross-vaccination is also possible for children who have received the existing 13-valent vaccine.

Professor Kang Hyun-mi of the Department of Pediatrics at Catholic University Seoul St. Mary's Hospital is explaining about Boxnewvance at the Boxnewvance media seminar held on the afternoon of the 6th in Jung-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Lee Chun-hee]

Hyunmi Kang, Professor of Pediatrics at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, stated, "Vaccine development requires that the immunogenicity, which can be considered the protective ability against the serotypes of existing vaccines, is well maintained." She added, "If it has better efficacy against the still unresolved serotype 3 and also provides protection against 22F and 33F, which are major causes of pneumonia overseas, it can be considered a good vaccine." Boxnewance has higher protective ability against serotype 3 compared to the existing 13-valent vaccine and is also capable of preventing 22F and 33F.

In particular, Professor Kang highly praised Boxnewance for overcoming the 'tendency of decreased immunogenicity with increased serotypes,' which is a phenomenon where the protective ability against existing serotypes decreases as more serotypes are included in protein-conjugate vaccines. Immunogenicity refers to the vaccine's ability to prevent the corresponding serotype, and the World Health Organization (WHO) considers that when the concentration of serotype-specific immunoglobulin (Ig)G is 0.35 μg/mL or higher, the vaccine has the ability to prevent most infections. She evaluated, "A good vaccine satisfies immunogenicity for each serotype. Although it has more serotypes than existing vaccines, it has non-inferior immunogenicity for common serotypes, and especially showed a much higher response rate for serotype 3."

Kyeongseon Yang, Director of Medical Affairs at MSD Korea, explained the background for overcoming the tendency of decreased immunogenicity by saying, "We targeted unmet disease prevention that remains despite the introduction of existing vaccines," and added, "We found a more effective conjugation method and improved the technology level for purifying serotypes."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.