American multinational pharmaceutical company Merck (Known as Merck Sharp & Dohme or MSD outside the United States and Canada) has announced that the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) of Singapore has approved CAPVAXIVE (Pneumococcal 21-valent Conjugate Vaccine) for active immunisation for the prevention of invasive disease and pneumonia caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes 3, 6A, 7F, 8, 9N, 10A, 11A, 12F, 15A, 15B, 15C, 16F, 17F, 19A, 20A, 22F, 23A, 23B, 24F, 31, 33F, and 35B in adults 18 years of age and older.
CAPVAXIVE is a pneumococcal vaccine that helps protect adults against invasive pneumococcal disease and pneumococcal pneumonia caused by the indicated serotypes. In adults previously vaccinated with other pneumococcal vaccines, subsequent vaccination with CAPVAXIVE is estimated to provide a combined serotype coverage of 78% against serotypes causing Invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD).
The approval introduces an adult-focused pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) option in the context of changes in adult IPD serotype distribution observed over time in Singapore. CAPVAXIVE was approved in the USA in June 2024, in Canada in July 2024, in Australia in February 2025, and in Singapore in February 2026.
The previously approved pneumococcal vaccines referenced include PCV13, PCV15 and PCV20.
