Valneva Says Third Dose Of VLA2001 Boosted Antibodies To Fight Covid-19

(RTTNews) - Valneva SE (VALN), a French biotech company, said on Thursday that the initial data from its phase 1/2 study showed the third dose of its inactivated, adjuvanted vaccine candidate VLA2001 has significantly raised immunity against Covid-19.

An increase in immunity was observed in the participants who received VLA2001 as booster shot, which administered seven to eight months after the second dose of VLA2001 primary vaccination.

"A third dose of VLA2001 elicited an excellent anamnestic response, with similar antibody levels observed whether participants were initially vaccinated with a low, medium or high dose," the company said in a statement.

This represents a strong boosting effect, increasing levels of antibodies against the Wuhan virus 42- to 106-fold, depending on the pre-boosting levels of antibodies, it added.

Valneva is moving ahead with its plans to launch a dedicated heterologous booster trial, which is expected to evaluate a VLA2001 booster shot provided at least six months after primary vaccination with other vaccines or following natural infection.

This study is expected to commence in early 2022.