Ticks that carry Lyme disease have been on the march, spreading into more forests and brush areas around the U.S. and Europe. But lovers of the outdoors could get a new weapon against Lyme, if a new vaccine candidate performs well. It aims to protect people as young as five.
If it were to gain regulators’ approval, it would become the only Lyme disease vaccine available for humans in the U.S. But it’s expected to take years for the potential vaccine to reach the market. If the phase-three study is a success, the companies say, they would likely seek official authorization in 2025.
The new vaccine is called VLA15, and as of this week, it’s now in the third phase of a clinical study in humans. It was created by Pfizer and French drugmaker Valneva.