Valneva Receives EMA’s Positive CHMP Opinion for Adolescent Label
Extension for Chikungunya Vaccine IXCHIQ®
If granted,
IXCHIQ® will become
the first vaccine against the chikungunya virus (CHIKV) available
in the EU for adolescents 12 years of age and older
Saint Herblain (France), February 28,
2025 – Valneva SE (Nasdaq: VALN; Euronext Paris: VLA), a
specialty vaccine company, today announced that the Committee for
Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines
Agency (EMA) has adopted a positive opinion recommending
authorization of a label extension for IXCHIQ®,
Valneva’s single-dose vaccine for the prevention of disease caused
by the chikungunya virus, to individuals 12 years of age and older.
IXCHIQ® received marketing authorization in Europe for
individuals 18 years and older in July 20241.
The European Commission (EC) will now review the
CHMP recommendation, and a decision on the label extension
application of IXCHIQ® in the European Union (EU),
Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland is expected within sixty
days.
The positive CHMP opinion is supported by positive six-month
adolescent Phase 3 data which Valneva reported in May
20242. These data, collected through a study in Brazil
funded by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations
(CEPI) and the European Union’s (EU) Horizon Program, showed that a
single-dose vaccination with IXCHIQ® induces a high
immune response in 99.1% of adolescents, and that the vaccine was
generally well tolerated. Valneva recently announced that this
immune response was sustained in 98.3% of adolescents one-year
after single vaccination3. These results reaffirm the
strong and persistent immune response with only one dose already
seen in adults4. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, a world
leading infectious diseases journal, also published an
article5 showing that the vaccine was generally safe and
well tolerated in adolescents 12 to 17 years of age 28 days after a
single injection, regardless of previous CHIKV infection.
Juan Carlos Jaramillo, M.D., Chief
Medical Officer of Valneva, said, “Given the substantial
risk that chikungunya presents to individuals residing in or
traveling to endemic regions, it's imperative to ensure the vaccine
is available to all age groups. Therefore, this positive CHMP
opinion marks a crucial milestone toward introducing a more robust
preventative solution against chikungunya in the EU. Broader
accessibility will help provide protection and mitigate the burden
of this debilitating illness, which is continuing to spread in
areas that were previously unaffected.”
The CHMP positive opinion follows four
regulatory approvals in the U.S6., Europe7,
Canada8 and the UK9 in adults 18 years of age
and older. Valneva expects to receive marketing approval in Brazil
in the first quarter of 2025, which would represent the first
approval in an endemic country. Valneva submitted additional label
extension applications to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(FDA)10 and Health Canada11 to also extend
the use of IXCHIQ® to adolescents in these territories.
The Company now also plans to submit a label extension application
to the UK MHRA.
Valneva is focused on expanding the vaccine’s
label and access. In the third quarter of 2024, the Company
expanded its partnership with CEPI12, with support from
the EU Horizon Europe program, through a $41.3 million grant to
advance broader access to the vaccine in Low- and Middle-Income
Countries (LMICs), post-marketing studies and research to support
potential label extensions in children, adolescents and pregnant
women.
Within the framework of this partnership,
Valneva recently announced the signing of an exclusive license
agreement with the Serum Institute of India (SII), the world’s
largest manufacturer of vaccines by number of doses, enabling the
supply of the vaccine in Asia, with a commitment to priority supply
of the chikungunya vaccine at an affordable price to public health
markets in LMICs.
This new agreement complements the license
agreement Valneva signed in 2021 with Instituto Butantan in Brazil
for the development, manufacturing and marketing of a local
chikungunya vaccine at an affordable price for distribution in
Latin American countries and selected LMICs affected by the
disease.
Dr. Richard Hatchett, Chief Executive
Officer of CEPI,
commented, “Cases of Chikungunya are increasing around the world,
making populations of all ages vulnerable to the disease’s
long-term debilitating effects, such as prolonged joint plan and
inflammation. The CHMP’s recommendation for use of
IXCHIQ® in adolescents in the European Union is an
important steppingstone that could help accelerate the approval of
the vaccine in this age group in other regions, including areas
where the disease is endemic.”
About Chikungunya
Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-borne viral disease spread
by the bites of infected Aedes mosquitoes which causes
fever, severe joint and muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue and
rash. Joint pain is often debilitating and can persist for weeks to
years13.
In 2004, the disease began to spread quickly, causing large-scale
outbreaks around the world. Since the re-emergence of the virus,
CHIKV has now been identified in over 110 countries in Asia,
Africa, Europe and the Americas14. Between 2013 and
2023, more than 3.7 million cases were reported in the
Americas15 and the economic impact is considered to be
significant. The medical and economic burden is expected to grow
with climate change as the mosquito vectors that transmit the
disease continue to spread geographically. As such, the World
Health Organization (WHO) has highlighted chikungunya as a major
public health problem.16
About Valneva SE
We are a specialty vaccine company that develops, manufactures, and
commercializes prophylactic vaccines for infectious diseases
addressing unmet medical needs. We take a highly specialized and
targeted approach, applying our deep expertise across multiple
vaccine modalities, focused on providing either first-, best- or
only-in-class vaccine solutions.
We have a strong track record, having advanced multiple vaccines
from early R&D to approvals, and currently market three
proprietary travel vaccines, including the world’s first and only
chikungunya vaccine, as well as certain third-party vaccines.
Revenues from our growing commercial business help fuel the
continued advancement of our vaccine pipeline. This includes the
only Lyme disease vaccine candidate in advanced clinical
development, which is partnered with Pfizer, the world’s most
clinically advanced tetravalent Shigella vaccine candidate, as well
as vaccine candidates against the Zika virus and other global
public health threats. More information is available at
www.valneva.com.
Valneva
Investor and Media Contacts
Laetitia Bachelot-Fontaine
VP Global Communications & European Investor Relations
M +33 (0)6 4516 7099
laetitia.bachelot-fontaine@valneva.com |
Joshua Drumm, Ph.D.
VP Global Investor Relations
M +001 917 815 4520
joshua.drumm@valneva.com |
About CEPI
CEPI was launched in 2017 as an innovative partnership between
public, private, philanthropic and civil organizations. Its mission
is to accelerate the development of vaccines and other biologic
countermeasures against epidemic and pandemic threats so they can
be accessible to all people in need. CEPI has supported the
development of more than 50 vaccine candidates or platform
technologies against multiple known high-risk pathogens or a future
Disease X. Central to CEPI’s pandemic-beating five-year plan for
2022-2026 is the ‘100 Days Mission’ to compress the time taken to
develop safe, effective, globally accessible vaccines against new
threats to just 100 days.
Learn more at CEPI.net. Follow us on X (@CEPIvaccines), LinkedIn
and Facebook.
About Horizon Europe
Horizon Europe — #HorizonEU — is the European Union's
flagship Research and Innovation programme, part of the
EU-long-term Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) with a budget of
€95.5 billion to spend over a seven-year period
(2021-2027). Under Horizon Europe, health research will
be supported with the aim to find new ways to keep people healthy,
prevent diseases, develop better diagnostics and more effective
therapies, use personalised medicine approaches to improve
healthcare and wellbeing, and take up innovative health
technologies, such as digital ones.
CEPI Media Contact
press@cepi.net
+44 7387 055214
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain
forward-looking statements relating to the business of Valneva,
including with respect to the progress, timing, results and
completion of research, development and clinical trials for product
candidates, to regulatory approval of product candidates and review
of existing products. In addition, even if the actual results or
development of Valneva are consistent with the forward-looking
statements contained in this press release, those results or
developments of Valneva may not be sustained in the future. In some
cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by words such as
“could,” “should,” “may,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “believes,”
“intends,” “estimates,” “aims,” “targets,” or similar words. These
forward-looking statements are based largely on the current
expectations of Valneva as of the date of this press release and
are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and
uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results,
performance or achievements to be materially different from any
future results, performance or achievement expressed or implied by
these forward-looking statements. In particular, the expectations
of Valneva could be affected by, among other things, uncertainties
and delays involved in the development and manufacture of vaccines,
unexpected clinical trial results, unexpected regulatory actions or
delays, competition in general, currency fluctuations, the impact
of the global and European credit crisis, and the ability to obtain
or maintain patent or other proprietary intellectual property
protection. Success in preclinical studies or earlier clinical
trials may not be indicative of results in future clinical trials.
In light of these risks and uncertainties, there can be no
assurance that the forward-looking statements made in this press
release will in fact be realized. Valneva is providing this
information as of the date of this press release and disclaims any
intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events, or otherwise.
1 Valneva Receives Marketing Authorization in
Europe for the World’s First Chikungunya Vaccine, IXCHIQ®
2 Valneva Reports Further Positive Pivotal Phase 3
Data in Adolescents for its Single-Shot Chikungunya
Vaccine
3 Valneva Reports High Sustained Immune Response in
Adolescents One Year After Single Vaccination with its Chikungunya
Vaccine - Valneva
4 Valneva Reports Positive Three-Year Antibody
Persistence Data for its Single-Shot Chikungunya Vaccine IXCHIQ® -
Valneva
5 Safety and immunogenicity of a live-attenuated
chikungunya virus vaccine in endemic areas of Brazil: interim
results of a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled phase 3
trial in adolescents
6 Valneva Announces U.S. FDA Approval of World’s First
Chikungunya Vaccine, IXCHIQ®
7 Valneva Receives Marketing Authorization in Europe
for the World’s First Chikungunya Vaccine, IXCHIQ®
8 Valneva Announces Health Canada Approval of the
World’s First Chikungunya Vaccine, IXCHIQ®
9 Valneva Receives Marketing Authorization in the UK
for the World’s First Chikungunya Vaccine, IXCHIQ®
10 Valneva Submits Label Extension Application for its
Chikungunya Vaccine, IXCHIQ®, to the U.S. FDA
11 Valneva Submits Label Extension Applications for
its Chikungunya Vaccine, IXCHIQ®, to EMA and Health Canada
12 CEPI Expands Partnership with Valneva with a $41.3
Million Grant to Support Broader Access to the World’s First
Chikungunya Vaccine - Valneva
13
https://jvi.asm.org/content/jvi/88/20/11644.full.pdf
14 https://cmr.asm.org/content/31/1/e00104-16
15 PAHO/WHO data: Number of reported cases of chikungunya fever
in the Americas (Cumulative Cases 2018-2023 and Cases per year
2013-2017).
https://www.paho.org/data/index.php/en/mnu-topics/chikv-en/550-chikv-weekly-en.html.
Last accessed 01 Aug 2023.
16 Geographical expansion of cases of dengue and
chikungunya beyond the historical areas of transmission in the
Region of the Americas (who.int)
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2025_02_28_IXCHIQ_Ado_Extension_CHMP_Positive_Opinion_PR_EN_Final
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