This is good news for Valneva. The United States on Thursday approved the world’s first vaccine against chikungunya, developed by a French-Austrian biotech company. A potential market of $500 million a year, half of which Valneva targets travelers.
Marketed under the name “Ixchiq”, it is approved for people aged 18 and over who are at high risk of exposure to the virus, according to the US Medicines Agency (FDA), whose decisions are closely watched around the world.
Chikungunya virus, which is transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes, causes a sudden onset of fever and severe joint pain. Symptoms can sometimes last for months or even years, but deaths are rare.
Lyme vaccine under investigation
This disease is mainly found in tropical regions, particularly in Africa, Southeast Asia and some parts of the Americas. However, chikungunya has spread to new regions of the world, causing an increase in cases, said the FDA, which describes the disease as: “Global Health Threat”. At least five million cases of infection have been reported in the last fifteen years. Others have also registered in Europe.
Valneva, which specializes in travel vaccines, has also submitted an application for approval to the European Medicines Agency (EMA). This new vaccine allows the biotech to turn the page on Covid, with which it has accumulated costly failures.
Valneva is also working on a Lyme disease vaccine developed with Pfizer, which became a shareholder in the biotech last year. It can be sold in the United States from 2026.
Source: Le Figaro
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