The higher response rate in the combined vaccine group may be due to the stronger priming effect of the primary vaccination course or the greater immunogenicity of the combined vaccine in equally primed subjects or a combination of both effects. As previously reported with the combined hepatitis A/B vaccine,7,9,10 vaccine response selleckchem was observed in subjects who had responded

to primary vaccination but had subsequently lost detectable antibodies, confirming the consideration that maintenance of anti-HBs antibody levels ≥10 mIU/mL is not essential for long-term protection against hepatitis B infection.11 In summary, the combined hepatitis A/B vaccine is immunogenic and well tolerated in adults aged >40 years, inducing higher and more persistent antibody levels (≥10 mIU/mL) against hepatitis B than corresponding monovalent vaccines. Use of a combined hepatitis A/B vaccine offers

a convenient approach to confer protection against these diseases in this population. The authors would like to thank LY2157299 datasheet all the subjects who participated in this study. We gratefully acknowledge the study nurses and other staff members for contributing in many ways to this study. We are indebted to Jennifer Coward for providing medical writing and editorial assistance in the preparation of this manuscript on behalf of GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, Priya Diana Crasta for statistical support and Manjula K. for publication coordination (both employed by GSK). Twinrix, Engerix-B, and Havrix are trademarks of the GlaxoSmithKline group of companies; HBVAXPRO

is a trademark of Sanofi Pasteur MSD Ltd.; Vaqta is a trademark of Merck & Co. GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals was the funding source and was involved in all stages of the study conduct and analysis. GSK Biologicals also funded all costs associated with the development and the publishing of the present manuscript. Clinical Trial Registration Numbers: 111149 / NCT 00603252; 111572 / NCT00684671 R. C. declares to have board membership (GSK, MSD, CEVAG), received consultancy (GSK), payment for development of educational presentations including service on speakers’ bureaus (GSK, Pfizer, Sanofi Pasteur, Baxter), Resminostat and travel/accommodations expenses covered or reimbursed for attending medical conferences (GSK, Pfizer, Sanofi Pasteur) in the past 36 months. J. S. declares to have board membership with GSK on rotavirus vaccines, received payment for development of educational presentations including service on speakers’ bureaus (GSK, Baxter, Sanofi Pasteur) in the past 36 months. R. C. and J. S. declare that their institution “Vaccination Center” has obtained grants and support for travel to meetings for the study. F. V. S. declares to have served occasionally on an advisory board for GSK on flu vaccines. P. V. D.