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Valneva and Pfizer announce Phase 2 study for Lyme disease vaccine candidate

350 points| pama | 4 years ago |pfizer.com

248 comments

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[+] jashephe|4 years ago|reply
I'm confused. Where does this say the vaccine is mRNA? The Valneva VLA15 website explicitly states "VLA15 is a multivalent recombinant protein vaccine" [1], and the linked press release calls it a "investigational multivalent protein subunit vaccine". Does nobody actually read these things?

See [2], "Subunit Vaccines".

[1] https://valneva.com/research-development/lyme-disease/

[2] https://www.niaid.nih.gov/research/vaccine-types

[+] ghaff|4 years ago|reply
I've heard it described as such but, no, it seems to be a distinct if perhaps somewhat related type of vaccine? (UPDATED: It's not.) The company that actually created the vaccine is also unrelated to the company that developed the vaccine that Pfizer is currently distributing for COVID.
[+] _Microft|4 years ago|reply
Prepare to read the headline "mRNA vaccine trial for <...>" a lot in the future. My guess is that they are going to produce mRNA versions of basically any vaccine (and then some) in the future. The nice thing about the technology seems to be that you only need to exchange the mRNA payload while the surrounding delivery method can be reused. That makes it not only a fast method to create a vaccine but a very convenient way as well. Nice side effect might be that for the next pandemic, we might have doses for everyone ready at the moment the trials are done. Take that with a giant grain of salt because I'm not in the industry.
[+] amyjess|4 years ago|reply
At the beginning of the pandemic, people theorized that public health will influence future media for a generation, much like WW2 did. For decades, we got war TV shows, war movies, war comics, etc. Hogan's Heroes ran into the '70s, Sgt. Rock was published until the late '80s, and so on. And I think we're about to see the same with media based on public health efforts.

One of the things that'll come out of this is that mRNA vaccines as miracle wonder drugs that cure everything are going to get huge amounts of attention, and media will reflect that. Especially if the Lyme, Malaria, and HIV vaccines prove successful. We are going to see mRNA vaccines as plot devices and MacGuffins in media for decades to come. It's going to get the same treatment radiation got in the '60s and '70s and genetic engineering got in the '90s and '00s. For example, it wouldn't surprise me if, the next time Marvel decides to make a new adaptation of Spider-Man, the spider will have been treated with mRNA instead of radiation (the original story) or gene therapy ('90s cartoon, '00s movies, maybe others).

[+] honksillet|4 years ago|reply
Does anyone know why they haven't released a Delta varient vaccine? Is seems that it would just involved we changing the mRNA sequence in a computer at the factor, but I'm really just guessing. Also maybe it is considered a whole new vaccineand needs to go through approval again.
[+] ianhawes|4 years ago|reply
The biggest investment that Pfizer made was the creation of a way to reliably manufacture mRNA vaccines. Now they must recoup those investments.
[+] raaaaraaaa12|4 years ago|reply
that sounds great but its scary technology in wrong hands
[+] KronisLV|4 years ago|reply
I actually had Lyme disease when i was younger. Curiously enough, i didn't get the somewhat common rash after the tick bite, but instead it was discovered later, as a part of blood testing. I was submitted to that after my relatives had concerns about how lethargic i was being, as well as because i was experiencing joint pain, which the blood test later seemed to confirm.

If i recall correctly, i was given antibiotics and felt pretty bad for a month onwards, though nowadays i'm not aware of any lingering long term effects, apart from maybe my short term memory being slightly worse than i'd expect it to. Of course, i think that in my case i had it pretty easy, since some other folks are known to develop symptoms that are considerably more worse. Whether there will be any lingering consequences in my future because of it, only time will tell.

A vaccine would definitely be welcome, especially because of how common ticks are here in Eastern Europe - any walk in the forest might end with more than one of them on your clothes. If you have dogs, you'll probably have to remove dozens of those from their fur every summer.

[+] Inhibit|4 years ago|reply
In a side note I usually read that those rashes are only present in 30% of cases or so. Probably good advice to get checked out if you suspect an infection. Multiple times, if necessary, as the testing also doesn't appear to have a high degree of accuracy.
[+] foxhop|4 years ago|reply
About 8 weeks ago I was bitten by a tick and contracted Lyme Disease and I put my story up on YouTube to try to help others, let's just say it's a crazy ride downhill if you neglect the bacterial infection:

https://youtu.be/xbPr7DHwSIw

In the video I talk about the treatment I followed to recover.

Today symptoms appear gone but there have been testimony of hidden, lingering, or reoccurring issues after infection.

All that said, I still do not fully trust mRNA vaccines. Ticks carry a huge array of illness, bacteria and virus besides just BB.

If you are into Permaculture or Solar Punk, my 1/3 acre plot has a mini Food Forest and is a stones throw away from Lyme Connecticut where Lyme Disease was first observed affecting people and children. Like the video if you want to see more.

[+] Elinvynia|4 years ago|reply
Why don't you fully trust mRNA vaccines?
[+] aixi|4 years ago|reply
Ever since I moved to the 'first world' I've been scared of this disease. We don't have it where I come from and the long term effects sound straight up terrible.
[+] snemvalts|4 years ago|reply
It's nothing compared to the other tick disease: tick borne encephalitis. Thankfully there's a vaccine against that
[+] mantas|4 years ago|reply
It's super easy to treat if caught early. But that's where the good ends. Vast majority of cases present the infamous circle. But some don't. And if you got the circle in a hard-to-notice spot, it's easy to miss it (it will a month or two into infection) too.

First precaution is to check your legs (and possibly torso/hands) for ticks after passing through high grass. And whole body after coming from the woods. The nasty bit is you may bring ticks home, they stay active for a while and they may bite someone else.

If you get a rash in a weird spot and you've been out in the woods in the past 48 hours, check it out thoroughly. You may have a tick there. I've had countless ticks hiding in weird places that I found due to weird itchy-rashy feeling.

Once you get the tick, remove it in a safe manner asap. Lyme is transferred after the tick is done feeding and about to take off. Which is ~48 hours.

Personally Lyme Encephalitis is much scarier. Not as common, but long term effects are much more likely and even worse. On the bright side, there's a vaccine for it.

[+] halfmatthalfcat|4 years ago|reply
Just don't go meandering in backwoods. You're not going to get it in any urban environment.
[+] zz865|4 years ago|reply
Me too, and with Zika and Covid I feel like I've gone back to the dark ages of diseases.
[+] seren|4 years ago|reply
This is Phase 2, but I wonder how long Phase 3 will take, given that getting Lyme disease is still pretty rare, can easily be missed or misdiagnosed, it will takes a lot of time and people to get a significant effect between a control group and vaccinated people
[+] Gupie|4 years ago|reply
How effective would such a vaccine need to be? A vaccine of say 70% might be effective enough for herd immunity for a disease that is contagious person to person. But you don't get Lyme disease from other people so herd immunity is not possible, unless the intention is to inoculate deer, (no pun intended).
[+] darkerside|4 years ago|reply
I wonder if this might be effective as a treatment for chronic Lyme sufferers as well as a preventative measure.
[+] darkerside|4 years ago|reply
How will they test for efficacy? Lyme is notoriously hard to test for. Are they going to test for antibodies? Because that seems ripe for conflation.
[+] happyhardcore|4 years ago|reply
Can anyone give some insight as to why a vaccine hasn't been possible using more traditional technology?
[+] _Microft|4 years ago|reply
There was one but it was taken off the market. It's a bit of a sad story because it worked but because of unfounded claims that it had side effects, it lost trust of the public:

"In clinical trials involving more than 10,000 people, the vaccine, called LYMErix, was found to confer protective immunity to Borrelia in 76% of adults and 100% of children with only mild or moderate and transient adverse effects. [...] Subsequently, hundreds of vaccine recipients reported they had developed autoimmune and other side effects. Supported by some advocacy groups, a number of class-action lawsuits were filed against GlaxoSmithKline, alleging the vaccine had caused these health problems. These claims were investigated by the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control, which found no connection between the vaccine and the autoimmune complaints.

Despite the lack of evidence that the complaints were caused by the vaccine, sales plummeted and LYMErix was withdrawn from the U.S. market by GlaxoSmithKline in February 2002, in the setting of negative media coverage and fears of vaccine side effects.",

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyme_disease#Vaccination

[+] taf2|4 years ago|reply
Does this have the potential of helping people who already contracted the disease?
[+] mantas|4 years ago|reply
As someone who had Lyme twice.... YES PLEASE.
[+] cblconfederate|4 years ago|reply
I assume that mRNA will vaccinate for a lot of diseases, which means that a lot of new viruses will emerge through this evolutionary pressure. It's possible that we are also starting the same race as with antibiotics. Which is still better than people dying from these tiny evil viruses
[+] OliverJones|4 years ago|reply
They can probably recruit plenty of subjects from longtime residents of Old Lyme, Connecticut, USA, and Ipswich, MA, USA, where the disease started to take hold. This is good stuff. I hope they make it through efficacy (Phase 2) and safety (Phase 3) trials with good results.
[+] mrfusion|4 years ago|reply
But lyme is a bacteria, not a virus. So there’s not one obvious protein to have the rna produce. What are they making with the rna?
[+] swalsh|4 years ago|reply
Finally, I can be as protected as my dog!
[+] Thaxll|4 years ago|reply
Why is it a vaccine? Are there going to be vaccine for everything in the future?
[+] Ensorceled|4 years ago|reply
Why wouldn't there be a vaccine? In Ontario, we give children vaccines for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, influenza, smallpox (well, I got it as a child), rotavirus, IPD, measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox, HPV, Hepatitis B, meningococcal disease.

Ticks carrying Lyme disease are exploding in Ontario, probably because of climate change. It makes sense to get this into the rotation as soon as possible.

After COVID, we suddenly have everybody is acting like vaccines are something weird, odd, new and scary.

[+] meibo|4 years ago|reply
Vaccines are a very good way to prevent serious disease and may make it possible to eradicate diseases.

The best medical treatment is the one you never have to do.

[+] mschuster91|4 years ago|reply
> Are there going to be vaccine for everything in the future?

For a lot of stuff, the answer is probably yes, mRNA based vaccines are a revolutionary game changer - their quick turnaround time means you can actually tailor them to a specific cancer or pathogen the patient has and use the patient's own immune system to fight against the disease. Another advantage of mRNA is that manufacture doesn't depend on chicken eggs which take about six months to produce, are challenging to keep sterile enough and have issues for people with allergies (https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/27/health/chicken-egg-flu-va...).

However, some viruses like HIV or Influenza mutate so much that it was hard to make effective viruses, we will have to wait and see what the future brings there.

[+] bregma|4 years ago|reply
A vaccine is an excellent way to prevent an infectious disease. Borelliosis is an infectious disease. Infectious diseases cause human suffering. Vaccinating against as many infectious diseases as possible will reduce a great deal of human suffering.

I guess the real question is why would you not want to reduce human suffering?

[+] mantas|4 years ago|reply
Because Lyme disease is hard to catch early. And long-lasting Lyme is damn hard to treat with lots of side effects.
[+] cinntaile|4 years ago|reply
Lets hope so, then we can prevent instead of treat :)
[+] triceratops|4 years ago|reply
> Are there going to be vaccine for everything in the future?

We should be so lucky!

[+] shusaku|4 years ago|reply
It’s because the human immune system is superb at fighting off disease, so it turns out it’s easier to just prime it than to create our own way to kill viruses.
[+] Tycho|4 years ago|reply
I think thanks to Covid booster shots they realise they can pivot to a Vaccine-as-a-Service model and create all sorts of recurring revenue streams.
[+] tboyd47|4 years ago|reply
Vaccines are for healthy people, so it's a larger market.
[+] exhilaration|4 years ago|reply
Imagine a vaccine against various cancers!
[+] foolinaround|4 years ago|reply
Should we have a vaccine for addictions? alcoholism? drug use? eating?

Eg: Give it early in people's lives, that the first time they drink even a little alcohol, it should produce such (non life threatening) symptoms - terrible taste, throw up etc, they would not touch it again, and therefore won't be addicted?

[+] andrea81|4 years ago|reply
Do you have any links to the raw clinical trials data?