Valneva Reports Strong Phase III Chikungunya Vaccine Data After Merck’s Exit from Race

French company Valneva has released positive results from a Phase III study of its chikungunya vaccine candidate VLA1553, following Merck's exit from the race earlier this year. The vaccine showed a 28-day seroprotection rate of 98.9% in participants given the inoculation, according to results published in medical journal The Lancet. However, more than half of those vaccinated developed at least one adverse event related to the prophylactic, compared with only 31.2% of placebo comparators. Chikungunya is caused by a Togaviridae virus carried by Aedes mosquitoes and causes symptomatic sickness in up to 92% of humans. Valneva's answer to chikungunya is VLA1553, a live-attenuated vaccine candidate designed to be given in just one dose. Keywords: Valneva, chikungunya vaccine, Phase III study, VLA1553, Merck Valneva's chikungunya vaccine candidate has shown strong immunity response and could be an effective protective option against the mosquito-borne disease caused by the chikungunya virus. The investigational shot induced neutralizing antibody titers above the protective threshold in most participants with eval