5%). To fulfil CBER licensure criteria with ∼99% power using Bonferroni’s adjustment
in the QIV group, each age stratum (18–64 and ≥65 years) would need at least 562 evaluable subjects. HI antibody responses were described as the anti-log of the arithmetic mean of the log-10 transformed inverse geometric mean titres (GMT). In the lot-to-lot consistency, superiority, and non-inferiority analyses, GMTs at Day 21 were computed by fitting an ANCOVA model, including vaccine group as a fixed effect and pre-vaccination antibody titer as a covariate. Lot-to-lot consistency was based on adjusted GMT ratios for pairwise comparisons of QIV lots (lot 1/lot 2, lot 1/lot 3, lot 2/lot 3) for each strain; the pair with the largest GMT ratio for each strain was evaluated, and lot-to-lot consistency was demonstrated if the 2-sided 95% CI limit was between 0.67 and 1.5 for all four strains. Superiority of QIV versus Fulvestrant in vitro each TIV group for the alternate lineage B strain was demonstrated if the lower limit of the 2-sided 95% CI on the adjusted GMT ratio (QIV/TIV) at Day 21 was ≥1.5 for both comparisons. Non-inferiority for QIV versus TIV-Vic + TIV-Yam for A strains, and versus
TIV-Vic and TIV-Yam for the B Victoria and BMN673 B Yamagata strains, respectively, was demonstrated if the lower limit of the 2-sided 95% CI on the adjusted GMT ratio (TIV/QIV) at Day 21 was ≤1.5. Based on descriptive analyses, immunogenicity parameters were tabulated with 95% CIs at Day 0, 21, and 180 (sub-cohort), and CBER licensure criteria for immunogenicity of influenza vaccines were assessed at Day 21 and Day 180; the criteria were fulfilled if the lower limit of the 2-sided 95% CI on the SCR was ≥40% (aged 18–64 years) or ≥30% (aged ≥65 years), and the lower limit of the 2-sided 95% CI on the SPR was ≥70% (aged 18–64 years) and ≥60% (aged ≥65 years) [19]. The immunogenicity analyses were performed on the according-to-protocol
MRIP (ATP) immunogenicity cohort including all eligible subjects without protocol deviation who had serological data available at a given time point. The Day 180 analyses were performed on an ATP sub-cohort (immunogenicity persistence cohort). The frequency of solicited and unsolicited adverse events was tabulated with 95% CIs. Unsolicited AEs were assessed in all vaccinated subjects with available diary cards (reactogenicity cohort), and unsolicited adverse events were assessed in all vaccinated subjects (total vaccinated cohort; TVC). The first subject was enrolled on 1 October 2010 and the last study contact was on 21 June 2011. There were 1703 subjects enrolled, of which 1272 received QIV (423, 424, 425 received lot 1, 2, and 3, respectively), and 213 received TIV-Vic and 218 TIV-Yam. A total of 1655 subjects completed the study and there were 48 withdrawals of which 6 were associated with an SAE (Fig. 1).