Valneva Announces Lifting of European Medicines Agency's Temporary Restriction on Use of Chikungunya Vaccine IXCHIQ® in Elderly

Company Overview - Valneva SE is a specialty vaccine company focused on developing, manufacturing, and commercializing prophylactic vaccines for infectious diseases, addressing unmet medical needs [6] - The company has advanced multiple vaccines from early R&D to approvals and currently markets three proprietary travel vaccines [7] - Revenues from its growing commercial business support the advancement of its vaccine pipeline, which includes candidates for Lyme disease, Shigella, Zika virus, and other public health threats [8] Vaccine Development and Regulatory Update - The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has lifted the temporary restriction on vaccinating individuals aged 65 and above with Valneva's chikungunya vaccine IXCHIQ® after a thorough safety review [1][2] - The review was initiated due to serious side effects observed mainly in elderly individuals with underlying medical conditions, but the EMA concluded that IXCHIQ® should be administered when there is a significant risk of chikungunya infection [2][3] - IXCHIQ® is effective in producing antibodies against the chikungunya virus, which is particularly beneficial for older individuals at increased risk of severe disease [3] Chikungunya Disease Context - Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-borne disease causing debilitating symptoms, including fever and severe joint pain, with significant global outbreaks since 2004 [4][5] - The disease has been reported in over 110 countries, with more than 3.7 million cases in the Americas between 2013 and 2023, leading to a considerable medical and economic burden [5]