Meningococcal Antigen Typing System (MATS)

The Meningococcal Antigen Typing System (MATS) is a standardized, immunological typing method developed to assess strain coverage of multicomponent serogroup B Neisseria meningitidis vaccines. The assay is primarily applied to invasive meningococcal B strains and is used during vaccine development and post‑licensure surveillance to estimate the likelihood of vaccine‑induced protection across circulating isolates. MATS combines quantitative sandwich ELISA measurements of antigen expression and immunologic cross‑reactivity for key vaccine antigens—including factor H binding protein (fHbp), Neisseria heparin‑binding antigen (NHBA), and Neisseria adhesin A (NadA)—with genotypic characterization of PorA variable regions. Antigen‑specific relative potency (RP) values are compared against defined positive bactericidal thresholds to predict vaccine coverage at the strain level. MATS is routinely performed in VisMederi from over a decade and is recognized by regulatory authorities, including the European Medicines Agency (EMA), as a validated approach to support meningococcal B vaccine licensure and population‑level coverage estimates.