Paris (AFP)
The Franco-Austrian laboratory Valneva announced Thursday "positive initial results" for its vaccine against chikungunya, currently in phase III trials, the final results of which are expected in the next six months.
Tested on 4,115 adults in the United States, the vaccine generated "neutralizing antibody titers in 98.5% of participants 28 days after a single injection of the candidate vaccine," Valneva said in a statement.
It is well beyond the threshold of 70% agreed with the American regulator, the FDA, "which can be used within the framework of an application for authorization of marketing".
The vaccine candidate "has also been shown to be highly immunogenic including in elderly participants", praised Valneva, and was "generally well tolerated".
"These first results of a phase III trial (the last before a marketing application, editor's note) for a vaccine against chikungunya mean that we have taken a step closer to solving this major public health threat , growing and not satisfied, "said Juan Carlos Jaramillo, chief health officer at Valneva, quoted in the statement.
The final results are expected in the next six months, to be put on the market "as soon as possible".
In addition to a vaccine against chikungunya, a virus transmitted by mosquitoes, Valneva is also developing a vaccine against Covid-19, currently in a phase III clinical study.
Its Lyme disease serum is in phase II of clinical trials on humans, the intermediate step aimed at ensuring its effectiveness.
© 2021 AFP