Mer­ck cross­es the fin­ish line with its next-gen pneu­mo­coc­cal vac­cine. Does it stand a chance against Pfiz­er's 20-va­lent shot?

Mer­ck has crossed the FDA fin­ish line with its next-gen­er­a­tion pneu­mo­coc­cal vac­cine, suc­ceed­ing in its ef­forts to one-up — or rather, two-up — Pfiz­er’s 13-strain shot, Pre­vnar 13. But can it com­pete with Pfiz­er’s re­cent­ly ap­proved 20-strain shot?

Mer­ck an­nounced a win for V114, to be mar­ket­ed as Vaxneu­vance, in adults 18 years and old­er on Fri­day. The shot cov­ers all 13 strains cov­ered by Pfiz­er’s Pre­vnar 13 — 1, 3, 4, 5, 6A, 6B, 7F, 9V, 14, 18C, 19A, 19F, 23F — plus an ad­di­tion­al two, 22F and 33F.

Unlock this article instantly by becoming a free subscriber.

You’ll get access to free articles each month, plus you can customize what newsletters get delivered to your inbox each week, including breaking news.

SIGN UP LOG IN BECOME A PREMIUM SUBSCRIBER