Single Shot Vaccine For Chikungunya Virus By French Biotech- Valneva
A French biotech Company Valneva has developed a vaccine for the mosquito-borne chikungunya virus which shows huge potential. The vaccine developed is a live, weakened form of the chikungunya virus. There are 120 volunteers taking part in the trial who have made antibodies against the virus when measured 28 days after receiving the initial shot and showed no adverse results.
In the trail, Additional injections of vaccine will be received by the volunteers, after the initial shot will confirm that it is giving long-lasting protection after 6 and 12 months.
The prophylactic vaccine will protect people from the virus for years after receiving one shot. For Accelera ting the Clinical development, the vaccine was awarded an FDA fast-track designation in December 2018.
Chikungunya is a virus borne from the Aedes genus in tropical regions. Chikungunya is currently spreading, with breakouts in Europe causing debilitating symptoms such as fever and long-lasting joint pains.
Valneva is working on Vaccine development for other tropical diseases as well. One of the most advanced Vaccines for Lyme disease is entering phase II trials. Along with the US company – Emergent BioSolutions, Valneva is also working on a vaccine for Zika, another Aedes-borne virus.
Various pharma giants are conducting extensive research to find a cure for Mosquitoes born disease. Austrian biotech – Themis is among one which successfully completed phase II trial of its own vaccine for chikungunya recently and is set to enter Phase III no sooner than 2020. Recently, Sanofi’s vaccine for dengue fever has been accepted by the European Commission. On the other hand, UK biotech Oxitec has come up with an alternate approach of releasing mosquitoes to the wild which are genetically engineered to be sterile, reducing their population. Google’s Verily Life Science has also proposed similar plans.
