FDA approves Ticovac for tick-borne encephalitis – Pfizer

Pfizer Inc. announced that the FDA has approved Ticovac (tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) vaccine) for active immunization to prevent TBE in individuals 1 year of age and older. Ticovac is the only FDA-approved vaccine to help protect U.S. adults and children against the TBE virus when visiting or living in TBE endemic areas. Following today’s FDA approval, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is expected to discuss recommendations on the safe and appropriate use of Ticovac.

In clinical trials, the safety and immunogenicity of Ticovac were assessed across two age groups (1-15 years of age and >16 years of age). In these studies, seropositivity rates were 99.5% in 1-15 year olds and 98.7-100% in adults >15 years following three doses. Clinical studies demonstrated that Ticovac was generally well-tolerated with no unexpected adverse events or vaccine-related serious adverse events observed. The most common adverse reactions across both age groups were local tenderness, headache, local pain, fever, restlessness, fatigue, and muscle pain. Real-world studies from Austria have shown that the vaccine is 96-98.7% effective in people who have received at least three doses of the vaccine.