Encephalitis, Japanese

Bharat currently has five products in its personalized medicine pipeline—two in cell culture and three in the gene therapy segment, the Hindu Business Line reported late last week. With a storied history in vaccine development, India's Bharat Biotech is shaking things up and answering the call of advanced therapeutics. Bharat has unveiled plans to set up its first cell and gene therapy manufacturing facility at the Hyderabad, India, life sciences cluster known as Genome Valley. The drugmaker will lay out around $75 million for the project, multiple local news outlets have reported. The move by Bharat represents (PDF) its foray from vaccines into cutting-edge regenerative and personalized therapies, the company said in a Mar. 20 press release. Although a specific date wasn’t disclosed, the 50,000-square-foot plant is expected to begin full operations with the finalization of regulatory approvals and the completion of a build-out phase.Bharat currently has five products in its personalized medicine pipeline—two in cell culture and three in the gene therapy segment, the Hindu Business Line reported late last week, citing comments from Bharat's executive chairman Krishan Ella. The company is working on a range of CAR-T cell, CAR-NK cell and off-the-shelf gene therapies, Bharat's chief development officer Raches Ella added, as quoted by the Times of India. “Bharat Biotech, with its extensive experience and proven excellence in viral vaccine manufacturing, is uniquely positioned to master these complexities and produce human-grade vectors at the scale and consistency needed for clinical trials,” Krishan Ella said in the company's release. Additionally, Bharat has revealed a new collaboration pact with the University of Wisconsin-Madison that has the potential to expand into commercial deals that include in-licensing. The company is also looking ahead to exporting and the potential of medical tourism in the cell and gene therapy segment.Bharat popped up on the global radar in 2019 when it became the largest supplier of rabies vaccines in the world after acquiring Chiron Behring Vaccines from GSK in an all-cash deal. The price of the purchase wasn’t disclosed.At the time, India-based Chiron Behring had just a single product in the rabies vaccine Rabipur, while Bharat Biotech was selling a Vero cell-based rabies vaccine, Indirab. The acquisition boosted Bharat's annual rabies capacity to 25 million doses.During the pandemic, Bharat also rolled out a COVID-19 vaccine, dubbed Covaxin, which won approvals in multiple countries including India, Malaysia and Mexico. Attempts to introduce the shot in the U.S. with partner Ocugen proved less fruitful, however. Bharat currently boasts a portfolio of more than 19 vaccines and 4 biotherapeutics, with shots in influenza H1N1, rotavirus, Japanese encephalitis, rabies and cholera, among multiple others. 

Valneva’s chief medical officer said the company has capacity to send more doses if needed. Image credit: Shutterstock/mundissima. Valneva will provide 40,000 doses of its chikungunya vaccine Ixchiq to French overseas territory La Réunion as part of efforts to curb the spike in disease cases on the island. Valneva confirmed that French authorities are paying for the supply of doses as part of a national aim to prioritise vaccination in older adults with co-morbidities. French biotech Valneva, will send the doses in early April through distribution agreements with Réunion’s wholesalers. In agreement with the island’s local public health agency, more vaccine doses could be made available. La Réunion has experienced a sharp rise in chikungunya cases this year. Authorities have recorded 8,600 cases since August 2024, though the outbreak is gaining traction, with nearly 3,000 cases registered in the first week of March alone. La Réunion has a population of just under 900,000. As per the 2021 census, 18.7% of the population is over the age of 60. Chikungunya, caused by its namesake virus, is a mosquito-borne disease mainly found in tropical regions. Symptoms include fever and severe joint pain, which are similar to Dengue and Zika infections, making it harder to diagnose. Ixchiq is one of two licensed vaccines to prevent the disease caused by chikungunya virus in adults. The other, Bavarian Nordic’s Vimkunya, is currently approved for use in adolescents – though Ixchiq could soon have the same label after a positive recommendation by the European Medicine’s Agency (EMA). Valneva’s vaccine, which reached market before Vimkunya, generated sales of €3.7m ($4.02) in 2024. Whilst sales for the vaccine were lower-than-expected, the company reported strong overall growth for the past year, with product sales up 13% in 2024 compared to 2023. Valneva also develops vaccines for cholera and a Japanese encephalitis. Ixchiq is a live-attenuated vaccine that contains a weakened strain of the chikungunya virus. Vimkunya, on the other hand, is a virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine, meaning it works by mimicking the chikungunya virus to trigger an immune response. Both jabs are administered as a single shot. Access to Ixchiq in low and middle-income countries is supported by a $41.3m partnership with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness (CEPI). Valneva also has an ongoing license agreement with the Serum Institute of India (SII) to supply its vaccine at an affordable price to markets in low and middle-income regions in Asia. Due to frequent travel between mainland France and La Réunion, there is a risk of transmission back to France and even to other French overseas territories. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has alerted warned travellers to the popular holiday destination of chikungunya infection risk. Valneva’s chief medical officer Juan Carlos Jaramillo, said: “Chikungunya outbreaks spread rapidly, so it is crucial to vaccinate as many people as possible to help contain the virus. We have the capacity to supply more doses and will continue working closely with Agence Régionale de Santé La Réunion to manage this outbreak locally and prevent its spread to other regions through international travel.”

Valneva hauled in a $32.8 million contract to supply the U.S. Department of Defense with vaccines to treat Japanese encephalitis. While much of Valneva's focus these days is centered on its landmark vaccine for chikungunya virus, the French immunization specialist's catalog of older shots continues to serve up fresh government deals.Valneva has obtained a $32.8 million contract to supply the U.S. Department of Defense with an undisclosed number of vaccine doses to treat Japanese encephalitis, which is endemic in Southeast Asia, India and China.The vaccine, Ixiaro, is the only Japanese encephalitis approved for use by the U.S. military, the company said in a Jan. 30 press release. It was developed through an R&D agreement with the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, according to the company.The vaccine is specifically cleared to help prevent Japanese encephalitis in people two months of age and older who travel to or live in areas where the disease is endemic. In the U.S., Valneva sells and distributes Ixiaro directly to the military and in the private travel vaccination market. Japanese encephalitis causes inflammation of the brain and is typically transmitted through the bite of infected Culex species mosquitoes. The disease is thought to affect around 70,000 people in Asia each year and is fatal to an estimated 30% of those who show symptoms. About half of the survivors suffer permanent brain damage, Valneva said. Under the terms of Valneva's one-year contract, the U.S. will purchase a minimum of $32.8 million worth of the vaccine, with the option to buy additional doses over the next 12 months. Deliveries of Ixiaro doses continued last year under a supply contract inked in September 2023, Valneva noted in its release. The new contract timeline begins immediately.“The U.S. military has trusted Ixiaro for over 10 years to help protect military personnel, their families, civilian government service personnel, and government contractors from this potentially deadly disease,” Dipal Patel, Valneva’s chief commercial officer, said in the release.Ixiaro was first approved in the U.S. in 2009. The vaccine also boasts regulatory clearances for European Union member states, as well as in Canada, Norway, Liechtenstein, Iceland, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Israel.  While Ixiaro and the the cholera vaccine Dukoral make up two-thirds of Valneva's commercial portfolio, the company has been more squarely focused on its chikungunya vaccine, Ixchiq, in recent months, following the shot's initial FDA approval in late 2023. Last Spring, Valneva said that the launch of Ixchiq would take priority over the advancement of experimental vaccines for Lyme disease and the Zika virus.