title: Technical Development of a New Meningococcal Conjugate Vaccine.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Group A Neisseria meningitidis has been a major cause of bacterial meningitis in the sub-Saharan region of Africa in the meningitis belt. Neisseria meningitidis is an encapsulated pathogen, and antibodies against the capsular polysaccharide are protective. Polysaccharide-protein conjugate vaccines have proven to be highly effective against several different encapsulated bacterial pathogens. Purified polysaccharide vaccines have been used to control group A meningococcal (MenA) epidemics with minimal success.
  
  
  METHODS
  A monovalent MenA polysaccharide-tetanus toxoid conjugate was therefore developed. This vaccine was developed by scientists working with the Meningitis Vaccine Project, a partnership between PATH and the World Health Organization.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A high-efficiency conjugation method was developed in the Laboratory of Bacterial Polysaccharides in the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research and transferred to the Serum Institute of India, Ltd, which then developed methods for purification of the group A polysaccharide and used its tetanus toxoid as the carrier protein to produce the now-licensed, highly effective MenAfriVac conjugate vaccine.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although many years of application of meningococcal polysaccharide vaccines have had minimal success in preventing meningococcal epidemics in the meningitis belt of Africa, our collaborative efforts to develop a MenA conjugate vaccine yielded a safe and highly effective vaccine.
authors.affiliation: Frasch Biologics Consulting, Martinsburg, West Virginia.
authors.forename: Carl E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Frasch
authors.affiliation: Serum Institute of India, Ltd, Pune.
authors.forename: Subhash V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Kapre
authors.affiliation: Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, US Food and Drug Administration, Bethesda, Maryland.
authors.forename: Che-Hung
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Meningitis Vaccine Project, PATH, Ferney-Voltaire, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Marie
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Préaud
mesh_terms: D017954:Africa South of the Sahara / Q000453:epidemiology; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D007391:International Cooperation; D008585:Meningitis, Meningococcal / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D022401:Meningococcal Vaccines / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D038381:Neisseria meningitidis, Serogroup A / Q000276:immunology*; D013678:Technology, Pharmaceutical / Q000379:methods*; D014944:World Health Organization
chemical_list: C573970:MenAfriVac; D022401:Meningococcal Vaccines
keywords: African meningitis belt; MenAfriVac; conjugate vaccine; group A; meningococcal