(BFM Stock Exchange) – The vaccine specialist for infectious diseases said that the European Medicines Agency for Human Usage Agency had adopted a positive opinion on the use of the IXCHIQ vaccine in the elderly, twelve years and more against the chikungunya virus.

February was hectic for Valneva on the stock market. Its title has undergone supported clearances, investors who have opted for caution after the recent regulatory successes of its Danish competitor Bavarian Nordic for its anti-Chikungunya Vimkunya vaccine.

On February 14, Valneva had lost more than 9% while Vimkunya had received the approval of the American health authority for the twelve and older people. The same scenario reproduced two weeks later. Last Friday, Action Valneva had dropped 7.3% after the same Bavarian Nordic, announced that it had obtained the green light from the European Commission for a marketing authorization in Europe for its anti-Chikungunya Vimkunya vaccine among people 12 and over.

“The main fear of the market comes from the fact that the Danish vaccine is recommended for subjects from the age of 12, while the Valneva vaccine was only recommended for adults,” said Invest Securties in a note published this Monday, March 3.

“A full gap”

But this gap is filled, at least in Europe, adds the design office. Valneva announced on Monday, March 3 Monday, that the Committee of Human Usage Medicines (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) also adopted a positive opinion on Friday recommending an authorization to expand its anti-chikungunya IXCHIQ vaccine in people aged 12 and over.

On the Paris Stock Exchange, the Valneva title increased by 3%, around 3:00 p.m. after gaining more than 7% in the first exchanges.

The laboratory specifies that the European Commission will now examine the recommendation of the CHMP and a decision on the request to expand the indication of the vaccine in the European Union (EU), Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland is expected within sixty days.

“This extension allows Valneva to expand the target population of its vaccine to aim very exactly the same population currently eligible for the Bavarian vaccine,” said Invest Securities

“Although the advantage of the target market is still topical in the United States, it is still necessary to specify two points: the request for extension to adolescents for the Valneva vaccine is filed and in examination, a decision that can take place in the coming weeks, and the authorization of the FDA (Food and Drug Administration, the American Health Agency) for the Bavarian vaccine is only very recent (less than 10 days) Represent an asset differentiating against Valneva, “adds the design office.

According to Invest Securities, Valneva therefore retains the double advantage of efficiency and sustainability, and already fills the gap over the target population.

Recall that the IXCHIQ vaccine has been authorized for sale since the end of 2023 in the United States and since the end of 2024 in Canada and the European Union. Valneva has obtained this authorization for a few weeks in the United Kingdom.

Valneva expects to receive a marketing authorization in Brazil during the first quarter of 2025, which would potentially constitute the first authorization to use in an endemic population. The company also indicates that it has submitted other requests to expand the indication of the vaccine to the American health agency Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Health Canada in order to widen the use of the vaccine to adolescents in these two countries.

The specialist in vaccines for infectious diseases also plans to submit a request to expand the indication to the British health agency MHRA.

According to a Vaczine Analytics study cited by Valneva, the global market for chikungunya vaccine could exceed $ 500 million a year by 2032.

Valneva also has vaccine candidates for other infectious diseases generating important medical needs. The group plans to publish the phase 1 results for the zika vaccine – a virus transmitted by infected mosquito bites of the genus AEDES – in the first half of 2025 and phase 2B (intermediate stage which aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of a treatment) for the shigellose vaccine in mid -2025.

Shigellosis is a very contagious diarrheal disease caused by bacteria named Shigella, head of epidemics around the world, explains the Pasteur Institute.