French biotech company Valneva announces breakthrough vaccine for Chikungunya disease
The French biotech company Valneva has developed a live attenuated VLA1553 virus vaccine candidate that has shown to be effective in preventing Chikungunya, a viral disease that is transmitted by tiger mosquitoes and endemic to tropical countries. The vaccine has been tested in a phase III trial and has shown immunogenicity and safety 180 days post-dose. The trial has been published in the prestigious scientific journal The Lancet.
Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne viral disease that is a threat to global health. It is endemic to tropical countries and was introduced to the Americas in 2013 with sporadic and unpredictable outbreaks. In the past 15 years, it has caused at least five million infections in more than a hundred countries.
The disease is transmitted by mosquitoes of the genus Aedes, mainly the species Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus (tiger mosquito), which are active during the day and also transmit other viruses such as dengue and Zika. The disease has no specific treatment, only the symptoms are managed: high fever, headache, joint pain and muscle pain that may be followed by a skin rash.
The vaccine candidate has been shown to trigger immune response in 99% of participants and is “generally well tolerated”. The study was carried out on 4,115 adults, of whom 3,082 received a dose of the vaccine and 1,033 placebo. The most common adverse effects were headache, fatigue, muscle pain, joint pain, and pain at the puncture site. No deaths were reported.
“This may be the first Chikungunya vaccine available to both people living in endemic regions and travelers,” said Martina Schneider, Valneva’s director of clinical strategy and lead study coordinator.
The Lancet study concludes that VLA1553 is an excellent candidate for the prevention of disease caused by the Chikungunya virus.