meningococcal serogroup C polysaccharide vaccine

The meningococcal serogroup C polysaccharide vaccine is a biologic vaccine whose active ingredient consists of purified capsular polysaccharide antigens extracted from *Neisseria meningitidis* serogroup C. It is an unconjugated (plain) polysaccharide vaccine — as opposed to conjugate vaccines — and is classified as a biologic/vaccine modality. Its biological target is the immune system, specifically stimulating antibody responses (and B-cell memory) against the serogroup C capsular polysaccharide of *N. meningitidis*. It is indicated for the prevention of meningococcal disease (meningitis and septicemia) caused by serogroup C, primarily in adults and children over 2 years of age. In the context of the RIVM-sponsored Phase 4 Dutch pilot study, this vaccine is used as a booster dose comparator (alongside the MenC conjugate vaccine) to evaluate the persistence and characterization of B-cell memory following meningococcal serogroup C vaccination in adults. The vaccine has demonstrated clinical efficacy of over 85% in adults and children over 5 years old, though it provides a shorter duration of protection compared to conjugate vaccines and is not effective in children under 2 years of age.

Other names

MenC polysaccharide vaccineunconjugated meningococcal group C vaccineMPSV-Cmeningococcal polysaccharide vaccine, group C