Valneva announced the U.S. government Department of Defense (DoD) has exercised an option to purchase 80,000 additional doses of its Japanese encephalitis (JE) vaccine IXIARO®. The option brings the total value of the contract signed with the DoD in January 20191 to $70 million. Shipments associated with the option will commence shortly.
Valneva expects to sign a new contract with the DoD during the first half of the year.
“We thank the DoD for their renewed confidence in helping them protect military personnel and their families from Japanese encephalitis. We look forward to continuing to develop our relationship with the DoD,” Franck Grimaud, Chief Business Officer of Valneva said.
IXIARO® is the only JE vaccine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It was developed through a cooperative research and development agreement with the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. Valneva markets and distributes IXIARO® directly to the U.S. military and U.S. private market.
Valneva’s Japanese encephalitis vaccine is indicated for active immunization for the prevention of the disease for people who travel to, or live in, endemic areas. It has received marketing approval in the U.S., Europe, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Israel under the trade name IXIARO® and in Australia and New Zealand where it is marketed as JESPECT®. It is the only vaccine available to the U.S. military for Japanese Encephalitis. IXIARO® is approved for use in individuals two months of age and older in the U.S. and EU member states, Canada, Norway, Liechtenstein, Iceland, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Israel. In all other licensed territories, IXIARO®/JESPECT® is indicated for use in persons aged 18 years or more.
Japanese encephalitis is a deadly infectious disease found mainly in Asia. About 70,000 cases of JE are estimated to occur in Asia each year, although the actual number of cases is likely much higher due to underreporting in rural areas. JE is fatal in approximately 30 percent of those who show symptoms, and leaves half of survivors with permanent brain damage. The disease is endemic in Southeast Asia, India and China, a region with a population of more than three billion. In 2005, JE killed more than 1,200 children in only one month during an epidemic outbreak in Uttar Pradesh, India, and Nepal.