New tick vaccine

Viennese researchers achieve breakthrough in Lyme disease

A Viennese company has developed a new vaccine against tick-borne Lyme disease.

(Bild: Carola Schubbel/stock.adobe.com)

Good news from the Viennese biotech company Valneva: its Lyme disease vaccine VLA15 has shown a strong effect and good tolerability. Three partial vaccinations could reliably protect against Lyme disease.

The studies on the new Lyme disease vaccine show that it is safe and well tolerated. It is designed to cover the six most common types of ticks found in North America and Europe. VLA15 is currently the only Lyme disease vaccine in clinical development worldwide.

Good vaccine tolerance 
A total of 800 test subjects aged between 18 and 65 took part in the two clinical trials that have taken place so far. In the first study, the participants received three vaccine doses on the first day, after one month and after two months.

Vaccine tolerance proved to be very good in the test.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com/Alessandro Guerriero)

In the second study, the injections were given on the first day, after two months and after six months. The best immune response was observed when three doses were administered six months apart, and the tolerability of the vaccine was consistently good.

Current Phase III study
Pfizer is currently conducting a Phase III trial with VLA15 involving around 6000 volunteers in six countries to further investigate the efficacy and tolerability of the vaccine. However, the results will be some time in coming.

600,000 cases per year
The development of Lyme disease vaccines has been a major challenge for decades. Every year, around 476,000 people in the USA contract Lyme disease, compared to around 130,000 patients in Europe. Children and older people who spend a lot of time outdoors are particularly affected.

Possible breakthrough
In the new Lyme disease vaccine from Valneva and Pfizer, the ticks are vaccinated indirectly. The antibody response against the OspA protein caused by the vaccination blocks it, so that the Borrelia bacteria cannot leave the tick during the bite and therefore cannot transmit the infection to humans. With VLA15, Valneva and Pfizer could achieve a significant breakthrough in the prevention of Lyme disease and thus close a long-awaited gap in vaccine development.