Application of Network Meta-Analysis in Vaccine Research: An Illustration Using Immunogenicity of Pneumococcal Vaccines in Adults
Author(s)
Naveen Karkada, Sr., MSc1, Michele Pellegrini, MD, PhD2, Shite Sebastian, PhD3.
1GSK, Rixensart, Belgium, 2GSK, Siena, Italy, 3GSK, Cambridge, MA, USA.
1GSK, Rixensart, Belgium, 2GSK, Siena, Italy, 3GSK, Cambridge, MA, USA.
OBJECTIVES: A frequentist network meta-analysis (NMA) using data from clinical trials on pneumococcal vaccines (PnVx; licensed/under development) for adult (aged ≥50 years) immunisation was conducted to provide an overview of PnVx’s immunogenicity performance against serotype 3 (ST3), associated with substantial disease burden in Europe.
METHODS: An NMA was performed to describe the immunogenicity of PnVx in terms of opsonophagocytic activity (functional) titres against ST3 including immunogenicity data on 8 PnVx (pneumococcal conjugate vaccines [PCV20, PCV13, PCV15, V116, Vax-24, Vax-31], 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine [PPSV23], and 24-valent MAPS technology-based PnVx [Pn-MAPS24v]) evaluated in 9 trials (phase 1/2, phase 2, and phase 3). This analysis adopted as main analytical parameter the geometric mean ratios of functional titres (GMTRs) against Streptococcus pneumoniae polysaccharides induced by the individual study investigational vaccines compared to their controls. The network was built to illustrate the relationships between the selected studies, with the NMA conducted using PCV20 as common comparator. P-score measures were calculated to understand how treatments compare within the NMA.
RESULTS: Among the PnVx assessed, Pn-MAPS24v at a dosage of 2μg and 5μg per polysaccharide exhibited the highest GMTR of 3.12 and 3.82 vs PCV20, with a corresponding P-score of 0.900 and 0.985 respectively, showing higher immunogenicity against ST3 compared to other PnVx. ST3 GMTRs for other PnVx such as PCV15, V116 and PPSV23 were 1.96 (P-score=0.696), 1.49 (P-score=0.550) and 1.30 (P-score=0.405), respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: The application of NMA in vaccine research may provide considerable benefit to researchers and decision-makers by supporting a detailed understanding of the relative immunogenicity induced by different vaccines, integrating direct and indirect treatment comparisons from multiple clinical trials. Limitations of this NMA include the differences in assays, age groups, and study populations. Overall, the results from this NMA suggest that among the PnVx assessed, Pn-MAPS24v formulations exhibit the highest immunogenic potential against the predominantly circulating ST3.
METHODS: An NMA was performed to describe the immunogenicity of PnVx in terms of opsonophagocytic activity (functional) titres against ST3 including immunogenicity data on 8 PnVx (pneumococcal conjugate vaccines [PCV20, PCV13, PCV15, V116, Vax-24, Vax-31], 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine [PPSV23], and 24-valent MAPS technology-based PnVx [Pn-MAPS24v]) evaluated in 9 trials (phase 1/2, phase 2, and phase 3). This analysis adopted as main analytical parameter the geometric mean ratios of functional titres (GMTRs) against Streptococcus pneumoniae polysaccharides induced by the individual study investigational vaccines compared to their controls. The network was built to illustrate the relationships between the selected studies, with the NMA conducted using PCV20 as common comparator. P-score measures were calculated to understand how treatments compare within the NMA.
RESULTS: Among the PnVx assessed, Pn-MAPS24v at a dosage of 2μg and 5μg per polysaccharide exhibited the highest GMTR of 3.12 and 3.82 vs PCV20, with a corresponding P-score of 0.900 and 0.985 respectively, showing higher immunogenicity against ST3 compared to other PnVx. ST3 GMTRs for other PnVx such as PCV15, V116 and PPSV23 were 1.96 (P-score=0.696), 1.49 (P-score=0.550) and 1.30 (P-score=0.405), respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: The application of NMA in vaccine research may provide considerable benefit to researchers and decision-makers by supporting a detailed understanding of the relative immunogenicity induced by different vaccines, integrating direct and indirect treatment comparisons from multiple clinical trials. Limitations of this NMA include the differences in assays, age groups, and study populations. Overall, the results from this NMA suggest that among the PnVx assessed, Pn-MAPS24v formulations exhibit the highest immunogenic potential against the predominantly circulating ST3.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2025-11, ISPOR Europe 2025, Glasgow, Scotland
Value in Health, Volume 28, Issue S2
Code
MSR29
Topic
Methodological & Statistical Research
Disease
Respiratory-Related Disorders (Allergy, Asthma, Smoking, Other Respiratory), Vaccines