Challenge of conducting a placebo-controlled randomized efficacy study for influenza vaccine in a season with low attack rate and a mismatched vaccine B strain: a concrete example

Background

Our aim was to determine the efficacy of a trivalent inactivated split virus influenza vaccine (TIV) against culture-confirmed influenza A and/or B in adults 18 to 64 years of age during the 2005/2006 season in the Czech Republic.

Methods

6203 subjects were randomized to receive TIV (N = 4137) or placebo (N = 2066). The sample size was based on an assumed attack rate of 4% which provided 90% power to reject the hypothesis that vaccine efficacy (VE) was ≥ 45%. Cases of influenza like illness (defined as fever (oral temperature ≥37.8°C) plus cough and/or sore throat) were identified both by active (biweekly phone contact) and passive (self reporting) surveillance and nasal and throat swabs were collected from subjects for viral culture.

Results

TIV was well tolerated and induced a good immune response. The 2005/2006 influenza season was exceptionally mild in the study area, as it was throughout Europe, and only 46 culture-confirmed cases were found in the study cohort (10 influenza A and 36 influenza B). Furthermore among the B isolates, 35 were identified as B/Hong Kong 330/2001-like (B/Victoria/2/87 lineage) which is antigenically unrelated to the vaccine B strain (B/Yamagata/16/88 lineage). The attack rate in the vaccine group (0.7%) was not statistically significantly different from the attack rate in the placebo group (0.9%).

Conclusion

Due to the atypical nature of the influenza season during this study we were unable to assess TIV efficacy. This experience illustrates the challenge of conducting a prospective influenza vaccine efficacy trial during a single season when influenza attack rates and drift in circulating strains or B virus lineage match can be difficult to estimate in advance.

Trial Registration

Clinical trial registery: NCT00197223.

A vaccine manufacturer's approach to address medical needs related to seasonal and pandemic influenza viruses

Vaccination is considered to be one of the most effective tools to decrease morbidity as well as mortality caused by influenza viruses. For the prevention of seasonal influenza, Fluarix and FluLaval have been marketed since 1987 and 1992, respectively. Both vaccines have consistently been shown to meet or exceed the regulatory criteria for immunogenicity against the three strains H1N1, H3N2 and B, have a good safety profile, and are recommended for vaccinating children and adults of all ages. For the prevention of pandemic influenza, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has obtained licensure of a pre-pandemic vaccine, Prepandrix. This split-virus H5N1 adjuvanted with AS03, a proprietary oil-in-water emulsion-based adjuvant system, has demonstrated broad immunity against drifted H5N1 strains and has been shown to be effective in preventing mortality and viral shedding in animal studies. The influenza vaccine portfolio of GSK addresses specific medical needs related to seasonal or pandemic influenza viruses, which remain an important public health threat worldwide.