The French pharmaceutical company Valneva reported Tuesday that a large trial of the first vaccine against the chikungunya virus has yielded positive results. Although the trial was conducted on patients in the United States, where the virus is not endemic, experts praised the results.
The chikungunya virus, discovered in Tanzania in 1952 and present in 115 countries, causes fever and joint pain. It is transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, like the tiger mosquito, which also transmits dengue fever. The disease has experienced exponential growth in the Americas, with approximately 135,000 cases detected between January and April, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), and 50,000 cases reported in the region in the first six months of 2022.
Valneva is testing the vaccine in adolescents in Brazil, where the virus is endemic, and the results of these trials could be decisive for the future of the drug. The vaccine, known as VLA1553, is expected to receive approval from US authorities in August. The phase three trial, conducted in more than 4,100 healthy adults in the United States, showed that 99% of patients generated antibodies capable of neutralizing the virus, as published in the journal The Lancet. The vaccine requires a single injection and has so far shown side effects similar to those of other drugs.
The results are promising and could represent the first chikungunya vaccine for people living in endemic areas and also for travelers, explained Martina Schneider, head of clinical strategy at Valneva and lead author of the study. Valneva plans to apply for marketing authorization from European health authorities in the second half of 2023.
The WHO warned in April that mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue and chikungunya could become widespread due to climate change. Another pharmaceutical company, Bavarian Nordic, is also developing a drug against the chikungunya virus.