Spectacular results with Japanese encephalitis vaccine of ViroVet

JE is an important infectious disease of both public and animal health concern. The JE vaccine is based on the PLLAV or plasmid-launched live attenuated virus vaccine technology. ViroVet, in collaboration with the Rega Institute for Medical Research of the Leuven University, pioneers the development of vaccines based on this unique and proprietary technology platform. With this technology platform, vaccines can be designed and produced faster and more cost-effectively. PLLAV vaccines are tailor-made and thermostable thereby removing any cold-chain requirement.

Together with the Belgian reference laboratory for animal diseases Sciensano, ViroVet has confirmed that a single PLLAV vaccine dose offers at least the same protection against infection as the existing commercial vaccine.

Nesya Goris, CDO of ViroVet adds that “Earlier this year we showed the ability of PLLAV vaccines to activate humoral as well as cell-mediated immunity, now we have demonstrated that our vaccine offers excellent protection against infection.”

Erwin Blomsma, CEO of ViroVet states “We are delighted with the strong proof-of-concept data, another confirmation of the potential of our PLAV vaccine technology. Certainly for the Asian market, our JE vaccine will be very relevant.”

There is a significant market for an improved vaccine against JE that does not require cooling. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends integrating JE vaccinations into national immunization programs and prioritizing endemic areas. Some countries have developed JE vaccination programs; these are Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. The virus is related to dengue fever, yellow fever, Zika and West Nile virus.