Valneva gets $41m grant to roll out chikungunya vaccine

Valneva has been awarded funding from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and EU to expand access to its recently approved vaccine for chikungunya, a potentially life-threatening mosquito-borne disease.

The French biotech is the first company to bring a chikungunya vaccine to market, getting FDA approval for its Ixchiq (VLA1553) shot in November 2023 and in Europe and Canada in June, for adults at risk of the infection.

The new funding will go towards running clinical trials in vulnerable groups, such as children and pregnant women, and to help Valneva's technology transfer efforts to allow the vaccine to be produced in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in Asia.

Chikungunya is an emerging global health threat with at least five million cases reported in the past 15 years, with the highest risk seen in Asia, tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, and parts of the Americas.

It causes fever and debilitating joint pain – as well as muscle aches, joint swelling, headache, nausea, fatigue, and rash – and in severe cases can result in systemic complications and death.

Several thousand participants are already lined up to take part in the planned trials, which are due to start in 2025, according to a joint statement between Valneva and CEPI, a partnership between public, private, philanthropic, and civil organisations to develop vaccines against future epidemics and pandemics.

Specifically, Ixchiq will be tested in children aged one to 11 and pregnant women in countries that may be affected by a chikungunya outbreak, including Brazil, which is currently contending with a significant outbreak. This week, there have also been reports of rising cases in India, including in Uttarakhand, the city of Nagpur in Maharashtra, and Hyderabad in Telangana.

The new funding follows an earlier round in 2021, in which Valneva's US unit was awarded $24.6 million from CEPI and the EU to develop and roll out the vaccine in Latin American LMICs. As part of that agreement, Valneva agreed to run a trial in adolescents in Brazil, and Ixchiq is now under regulatory review in the country, with a decision due before the end of the year.

The threat posed by chikungunya and other mosquito-borne diseases is also thought likely to intensify in the coming years due to the impact of climate change on the range of the mosquito species that spread them.

"Millions of people have been affected by chikungunya and, today, over a billion people live in areas where chikungunya outbreaks occur," said Dr Richard Hatchett, chief executive of CEPI.

"Access to an affordable chikungunya vaccine in areas where the burden of disease is the greatest is a joint priority for CEPI, Valneva, and our EU partners," he added.

Rival developer Bavarian Nordic recently filed its single-dose CHIKV VLP vaccine candidate for chikungunya in the EU and US, seeking approval for individuals aged 12 and over.