Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) announced the successful completion of clinical studies for a novel Lyme disease vaccine. Despite a 3% drop in the S&P 500, the vaccine has significant commercial potential, which has boosted the stock.
In collaboration with Valneva SE (VALN), Pfizer is developing a VLA15 vaccine. The VLA15 vaccination elicited a significant immunological response in children aged 5 to 17 in phase 2 clinical trials. It was shown to be more potent than in adults, with no major negative effects.
It should be mentioned that the VLA15 vaccination previously achieved the target values when tested on 246 adults. Although the study is not yet complete, and the chance of failure exists, as with any other biotechnological discovery, these are all positive signs of the vaccine’s efficacy.
A vaccine for Lyme disease (borreliosis caused by ticks) might be a great economic success. It is one of the most prevalent vector-borne illnesses in the world (transmitted from carriers of bacteria, parasites, and viruses).
Only approximately 500 thousand cases are reported each year in the United States. As the habitat of ticks – carriers of the bacteria borreliosis – increases due to climate change, the incidence is growing in many nations. As a result, the sickness has spread throughout Russia.
As a result, VLA15 has a sizable market. Vaccines for Lyme disease are a complicated product. Earlier attempts by other firms have failed, such as the LYMErix vaccine, which was pulled off the market in 2002 due to adverse effects and a short duration of activity.
VLA15 has so far yielded encouraging outcomes with no major negative effects. It simultaneously targets six of the most frequent strains and has the potential to be used to vaccinate youngsters, something that previous vaccines, like LYMERix, have not been able to do. This is critical because, according to statistics, just one in every five children with Lyme disease remembers being bitten by a tick, which makes diagnosis much more difficult.
