Immunogenicity, safety, and efficacy of a tetravalent dengue vaccine in children and adolescents: an analysis by age group

• Published in: Clinical infectious diseases
• Main Authors: Borja-Tabora, Charissa, Fernando, LakKumar, Lopez Medina, Eduardo, Reynales, Humberto, Rivera, Luis, Saez-Llorens, Xavier, Sirivichayakul, Chukiat, Yu, Delia, Folschweiller, Nicolas, Moss, Kelley J, Rauscher, Martina, Tricou, Vianney, Zhao, Yuan, Biswal, Shibadas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 12-07-2024
• Subjects: TAK-003; dengue; safety; age; efficacy; immunogenicity
• ISSN: 1058-4838; 1537-6591; 1537-6591
• DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciae369

Dengue is an increasing threat to global health. This exploratory analysis evaluated the immunogenicity, safety, and vaccine efficacy (VE) of a live-attenuated tetravalent dengue vaccine (TAK-003) in participants enrolled in the phase 3 DEN-301 trial (NCT02747927), stratified by baseline age (4-5 years; 6-11 years; or 12-16 years).
Participants were randomized 2:1 to receive 2 doses of TAK-003, administered 3 months apart, or placebo. Dengue serostatus was evaluated at enrolment. VE against virologically-confirmed dengue (VCD) and hospitalized VCD; immunogenicity (geometric mean titers; GMTs); and safety were evaluated per age group through ∼4 years post-vaccination.
VE against VCD across serotypes was 43.5% (95% confidence interval: 25.3%, 57.3%) for 4-5 year-olds; 63.5% (56.9%, 69.1%) for 6-11 year-olds, and 67.7% (57.8%, 75.2%) for 12-16 year-olds. VE against hospitalized VCD was 63.8% (21.1%, 83.4%), 85.1% (77.1%, 90.3%), and 89.7% (77.9%, 95.2%), for the three age groups, respectively. GMTs remained elevated against all four serotypes for ∼4 years post-vaccination, with no evident differences across age groups. No clear differences in safety by age were identified.
This exploratory analysis shows TAK-003 was efficacious in dengue prevention across age groups in children and adolescents 4-16 years of age living in dengue endemic areas. Relatively lower VE in 4-5 year-olds was potentially confounded by causative serotype distribution, small sample size, and VE by serotype, and should be considered in benefit-risk evaluations in this age group.