July 17, 2024
Participants completed primary vaccination series (3 doses) with VLA15
Primary vaccination series to be followed by a booster approximately one year after completion
New York, NY and Saint-Herblain (France), July 17, 2024 – Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and Valneva SE (Nasdaq: VALN; Euronext Paris: VLA) today announced that the participants of the Phase 3 trial “Vaccine Against Lyme for Outdoor Recreationists” (VALOR) have completed the primary vaccination series (three doses) of Lyme disease vaccine candidate VLA15. Participants will be monitored for the occurrence of Lyme disease cases until the end of the Lyme disease season in 2025.
“The completion of the primary series of our VALOR trial is a critical step toward our goal of providing a safe and effective vaccine against Lyme disease,” said Annaliesa Anderson, Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Head of Vaccine Research and Development, Pfizer. “VLA15, the Lyme disease vaccine candidate we are co-developing with Valneva, is the one which has advanced the furthest along the clinical development timeline, with two Phase 3 trials in progress.”
Juan Carlos Jaramillo, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, Valneva, said, “We are pleased to see the progress of our Phase 3 VALOR trial. Lyme disease is the most prevalent vector-borne disease in the United States and Europe. It can result in debilitating complications and extensive healthcare treatments. Given the growing burden, high medical need, and lack of effectiveness with current interventions, there is an urgent need for novel approaches to help prevent Lyme disease.”
The VALOR trial, for which Pfizer is the sponsor, is a multicenter, placebo-controlled, randomized, observer-blinded trial conducted at sites in areas where Lyme disease is highly endemic across the U.S., Canada, and Europe. The aim of the trial is to evaluate the efficacy, safety, tolerability, immunogenicity, and lot consistency of VLA15, a 6-valent OspA-based Lyme disease vaccine candidate.1 Trial participants aged 5 years and older were randomized 1:1 into two trial groups and receive four doses of either VLA15 or a saline placebo – one dose each at months 0, 2, 5-9 and a booster one year after the third dose, shortly before the peak of the next Lyme disease season.
Subject to positive data, Pfizer plans to submit a Biologics License Application (BLA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in 2026.
VLA15 has shown a favorable safety profile across all dose and age groups in all clinical trials to date2,3. No safety concerns have been observed to date by an independent Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) in any treatment group. A second Phase 3 trial (C4601012), aiming to provide further evidence on the safety profile of VLA15 in the pediatric population between 5 and 17 years of age is ongoing; this trial completed enrollment in June 2023.
Pfizer and Valneva entered into a collaboration agreement in April 2020 to co-develop VLA15, with updates to the terms within this agreement made in June 2022.