DoD uses option to acquire 200,000 doses of Valneva’s Japanese encephalitis vaccine

As part of a contract signed with Valneva SE last year, the United States Department of Defense (DoD) has decided to utilize an option that will increase supply of the company’s Japanese encephalitis vaccine, IXIARO, to a minimum of 200,000 doses.

Japanese encephalitis is a deadly infectious disease usually found in Asia, where approximately 70,000 cases crop up each year. It has a fatality rate of around 30 percent in symptomatic cases, but even 50 percent of survivors are left with permanent brain damage.

However, the change in contract details was due to another ongoing health concern: the COVID-19 pandemic. DoD exercised its vaccine acquisition option on IXIARO due to how that disease has impacted its operations. As a result, the minimum value of the contract with Valneva is now approximately $118 million, thanks to the $28.8 million value injection brought about by the activation of the first year option. Shipments of the vaccine are scheduled to begin immediately.

“We thank the DoD for their renewed confidence,” Franck Grimaud, president and chief business officer of Valneva, said. “It is important that we continue to support our customers, both large and small, to help them navigate through the uncertainty caused by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their operations.”

In addition to these newest IXIARO shipments, Valneva intends to provide additional inventory to DoD after September 2023 to replace unused stock potentially nearing expiration. It will provide those replacements freely, though they will be noted as deferred revenue of up to $9 million as of fiscal year 2021.