Safety and immunogenicity of an investigational fully liquid hexavalent DTaP-IPV-Hep B-PRP-T vaccine at two, four and six months of age compared with licensed vaccines in Latin America.

Objective: This trial assessed the safety of a fully liquid investigational hexavalent DTaP-IPV-Hep B-PRP-T vaccine containing 10 μg Hansenula polymorpha-derived recombinant hepatitis B (hep B) antigen for primary vaccination of infants at 2, 4 and 6 months of age compared with licensed comparators.

Methods: Participants received the DTaP-IPV-Hep B-PRP-T vaccine (group 1, N = 1422) or licensed DTwP-Hep B//Hib (Tritanrix-Hep B/Hib) and oral poliovirus vaccines (group 2, N = 711). The incidence of severe fever (≥ 39.6°C rectal equivalent) in the 2 groups was compared statistically; reactogenicity was evaluated from parental reports. Anti-Hep B antibody titers were measured in a subset of participants (no hepatitis B vaccination at birth) 1 month after dose 3.

Results: The investigational vaccine was well tolerated. After any dose, fever (rectal equivalent temperature ≥ 38°C) was observed in 74.8% and 92.7% of participants in groups 1 and 2; severe fever was observed in 4.0% and 5.5% of participants. Solicited injection site and systemic reactions were numerically less frequent in group 1 than group 2, although this difference was not assessed statistically. In both groups, all participants included in the immunogenicity analysis achieved anti-Hep B ≥ 10 mIU/mL and ≥ 96.2% of participants achieved anti-Hep B ≥ 100 mIU/mL, although geometric mean titer was approximately 3-fold lower for the investigational vaccine.

Conclusion: This new, fully liquid acellular pertussis hexavalent vaccine demonstrated less reactogenicity than the licensed comparator whole cell pertussis vaccine and was highly immunogenic for the new Hep B valence.