Lyme disease vaccine to get EU review, firms say

European Union regulators have accepted an application to review an experimental Lyme disease vaccine, developers Pfizer and Valneva said Friday.

The companies said trials of the vaccine, formally called PF-07307405, showed 70 percent efficacy in people aged five and above. They also noted a disappointing trial result earlier this year.

Lyme disease, described as the world’s most common tick-borne illness, currently has no approved vaccine. It is rarely fatal but can cause rashes, flu-like symptoms and, in some cases, neurological problems after a bite from an infected tick.

Research in 2022 estimated that more than 14 percent of the global population has had Lyme disease and warned that transmission rates could rise as climate change brings longer, drier summers.

Valneva shares rose nearly 16 percent in early trading on the Paris stock exchange after the announcement. Valneva chief executive Thomas Lingelbach said more than 200 million people live in Lyme disease risk areas in Europe.