While much of Valneva's focus these days is centered on its landmark vaccine for chikungunya virus, the French immunization specialist's catalog of older shots continues to serve up fresh government deals.
Valneva has obtained a $32.8 million contract to supply the U.S. Department of Defense with an undisclosed number of vaccine doses to treat Japanese encephalitis, which is endemic in Southeast Asia, India and China.
The vaccine, Ixiaro, is the only Japanese encephalitis approved for use by the U.S. military, the company said in a Jan. 30 press release. It was developed through an R&D agreement with the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, according to the company.
The vaccine is specifically cleared to help prevent Japanese encephalitis in people two months of age and older who travel to or live in areas where the disease is endemic.
In the U.S., Valneva sells and distributes Ixiaro directly to the military and in the private travel vaccination market.
Japanese encephalitis causes inflammation of the brain and is typically transmitted through the bite of infected Culex species mosquitoes. The disease is thought to affect around 70,000 people in Asia each year and is fatal to an estimated 30% of those who show symptoms. About half of the survivors suffer permanent brain damage, Valneva said.
Under the terms of Valneva's one-year contract, the U.S. will purchase a minimum of $32.8 million worth of the vaccine, with the option to buy additional doses over the next 12 months. Deliveries of Ixiaro doses continued last year under a supply contract inked in September 2023, Valneva noted in its release. The new contract timeline begins immediately.
“The U.S. military has trusted Ixiaro for over 10 years to help protect military personnel, their families, civilian government service personnel, and government contractors from this potentially deadly disease,” Dipal Patel, Valneva’s chief commercial officer, said in the release.
Ixiaro was first approved in the U.S. in 2009. The vaccine also boasts regulatory clearances for European Union member states, as well as in Canada, Norway, Liechtenstein, Iceland, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Israel.
While Ixiaro and the the cholera vaccine Dukoral make up two-thirds of Valneva's commercial portfolio, the company has been more squarely focused on its chikungunya vaccine, Ixchiq, in recent months, following the shot's initial FDA approval in late 2023. Last Spring, Valneva said that the launch of Ixchiq would take priority over the advancement of experimental vaccines for Lyme disease and the Zika virus.