AREXVY Powder for suspension for injection Ref.[50990] Active ingredients: RSV glycoprotein F antigen

Pharmacotherapeutic group: not yet assigned
ATC code: not yet assigned

Mechanism of action

By combining the RSV-specific antigen, F-protein in prefusion conformation, with an adjuvant system (AS01_E), Arexvy is designed to enhance antigen-specific cellular immune response and neutralizing antibodies response in individuals with pre-existing immunity against RSV. The adjuvant AS01_E facilitates the recruitment and activation of antigen presenting cells carrying vaccine-derived antigens in the draining lymph node, which in turn leads to the generation of RSVPreF3-specific CD4+ T cells.

Efficacy

Efficacy against RSV-associated LRTD in adults 60 years and older was evaluated in an ongoing, Phase III, randomised, placebo-controlled, observer-blind clinical study conducted in 17 countries from Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Participants are planned to be followed for up to 36 months.

The primary population for efficacy analysis (referred to as the modified Exposed Set, included adults 60 years of age and older receiving 1 dose of Arexvy or placebo and who did not report an RSVconfirmed acute respiratory illness (ARI) prior to Day 15 after vaccination) included 24 960 participants randomised equally to receive 1 dose of Arexvy (N = 12 466) or placebo (N = 12 494). At the time of the primary efficacy analysis, participants had been followed for the development of RSVassociated LRTD for a median of 6.7 months.

The median age of participants was 69 years (range: 59 to 102 years), with approximately 74% over 65 years of age, approximately 44% over 70 years of age and approximately 8% over 80 years of age. Approximately 52% were female. At baseline, 39.3% of participants had at least one comorbidity of interest; 19.7% of participants had an underlying cardiorespiratory condition (COPD, asthma, any chronic respiratory/pulmonary disease, or chronic heart failure) and 25.8% of participants had endocrinometabolic conditions (diabetes, advanced liver or renal disease).

Efficacy against RSV-associated LRTD

The primary objective was to demonstrate the efficacy in the prevention of a first episode of confirmed RSV-A and/or B associated LRTD during the first season. Confirmed RSV cases were determined by quantitative Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR) on nasopharyngeal swab. LRTD was defined based on the following criteria: the participant must have experienced at least 2 lower respiratory symptoms/signs including at least 1 lower respiratory sign for at least 24 hours, or experienced at least 3 lower respiratory symptoms for at least 24 hours. Lower respiratory symptoms included: new or increased sputum, new or increased cough, new or increased dyspnea (shortness of breath). Lower respiratory signs included: new or increased wheezing, crackles/ronchi, respiratory rate ≥20 respirations/min, low or decreased oxygen saturation (O₂ saturation <95% or ≤90% if baseline is <95%) or need for oxygen supplementation.

The vaccine efficacy overall and by subgroups is presented in Table 2.

Efficacy in preventing first RSV-associated LRTD with an onset from 15 days after vaccination compared to placebo was 82.6% (96.95% confidence interval of 57.9% to 94.1%) in participants 60 years of age and older. Vaccine efficacy against RSV-LRTD was observed through the median follow-up period of 6.7 months. The vaccine efficacy against RSV A-associated LRTD cases and RSV B-associated LRTD cases was 84.6% (95% CI [32.1, 98.3]) and 80.9% (95% CI [49.4, 94.3]), respectively.

Table 2. Efficacy analysis: First RSV-associated LRTD overall, by age and co-morbidity subgroups (modified exposed set):

^a CI = Confidence Interval (96.95% for the overall (≥60 years) and 95% for all subgroup analyses).
Two-sided exact CI for vaccine efficacy is derived based on Poisson model adjusted by age categories and regions.
^b Primary confirmatory objective with pre-specified success criterion of lower limit of the 2-sided CI for vaccine efficacy above 20%
N = Number of participants included in each group
n = Number of participants having first occurrence of RSV-confirmed LRTD occurring from Day 15 post vaccination

The vaccine efficacy in the subgroup of participants 80 years of age and older (1 016 participants in Arexvy vs 1 028 participants in placebo) cannot be concluded due to the low number of total cases accrued (5 cases).

Amongst 18 RSV-LRTD cases with at least 2 lower respiratory signs or preventing everyday activities, 4 cases of severe RSV-LRTD requiring oxygen supplementation occurred in the placebo group, while there were none in the RSVPreF3 group.

Paediatric population

The European Medicines Agency has deferred the obligation to submit the results of studies with Arexvy in one or more subsets of the paediatric population in prevention of lower respiratory tract disease caused by respiratory syncytial virus (see section 4.2 for information on paediatric use).