A major test of the first vaccine against the mosquito-borne chikungunya virus has yielded positive results, French pharmaceutical company Valneva announced on Tuesday.
The results were praised by experts, although the same was done with patients in the United States, where the virus is not endemic.
Detected in 115 countries since its discovery in Tanzania in 1952, the virus causes fever and joint pain and is rarely fatal. It is transmitted to humans through the Aedes mosquito.
The disease, for which there is still no medicine, has grown exponentially in the Americas. Between January and April, 135,000 cases were detected on the continent, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO). In the first six months of 2022, 50 thousand cases were registered in the region.
Valneva tests the vaccine on teenagers in Brazil, where the virus is endemic. The results could be decisive for the future of the medicine.
The vaccine developed by Valneva is known as VLA1553. According to the company, US authorities may give their approval in August.
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The new phase three test (the last phase before requesting the drug’s examination before authorities) involved more than 4,100 healthy adults in the United States, where chikungunya is not endemic. A total of 99% of patients generated antibodies capable of neutralizing the virus, according to a study published in the journal “The Lancet”.
The vaccine, which requires a single injection, has similar side effects to other drugs. The results are promising, said Martina Schneider, head of clinical strategy at Valneva and lead author of the study. “It could represent the first chikungunya vaccine for people living in endemic regions, as well as travelers.”
The WHO warned in April that mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue and chikungunya could spread due to climate change. Another drug against the virus is developed by Danish pharmaceutical company Bavarian Nordic.
