Merck wins breakthrough therapy designation for potential pneumococcal vaccine successor

Less than a year after winning FDA approval for its next-generation pneumococcal vaccine last July, Merck is already impressing the agency with a potential follow-up program.

Regulators bestowed breakthrough therapy designation upon Merck’s V116 candidate, a 21-valent vaccine designed to prevent invasive pneumococcal disease and pneumococcal pneumonia in adults.