NEW YORK CITY (dpa-AFX) - Pfizer Inc. (PFE) said Tuesday that TRUMENBA, the first and only FDA-approved vaccine for active immunization to prevent invasive disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B in individuals 10 through 25 years of age, is now available for order by healthcare providers in the United States.
Serogroup B meningococcal meningitis is characterized by high fatality rates and rapid onset, often within 24 hours. For individuals 11-24 years of age, about 30% of meningococcal disease is serogroup B in the U.S., and 10% of those cases result in death. As many as 60% of adolescent survivors of meningococcal disease, 15-19 years of age, suffer from permanent life altering consequences such as hearing loss, neurologic damage, or loss of a limb.
TRUMENBA is to be administered as a 3-dose series at months 0, 2 and 6 in the 10 through 25 year old age group.
TRUMENBA was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on October 29 under the FDA's Breakthrough Therapy designation and Priority Review programs.
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