Valneva COVID-19 vaccine shown to be more effective than AstraZeneca candidate
pharmafile | October 18, 2021 | News story | Sales and Marketing |
French biotech company, Valneva, has announced positive results from the Phase III trial of its inactivated, adjuvanted COVID-19 vaccine candidate, VLA2001.
The Phase III, Cov-Compare trial recruited a total of 4,012 participants, aged 18 years and older, across 26 trial sites in the UK. The trial successfully met both co-primary endpoints: VLA2001 had superior antibody titer levels compared to the active comparator vaccine, AstraZeneca’s AZD1222, and it had a neutralising antibody seroconversion rate above 95%.
The tolerability profile of VLA2001 was more favourable compared to the active comparator vaccine. Participants over the age of 20 reported fewer solicited adverse events up to seven days after vaccination, with regards to injection site reactions, and systemic reactions.
No unsolicited treatment-related serious adverse events (SAE) have been reported, and less than 1% reported an adverse event of special interest in both treatment groups.
Adam Finn, Professor of Paediatrics, University of Bristol, Trial Chief Investigator, said: “The low levels of reactogenicity and high functional antibody responses alongside broad T-cell responses seen with this adjuvanted inactivated whole virus vaccine are both impressive and extremely encouraging.
“This is a much more traditional approach to vaccine manufacture than the vaccines so far deployed in the UK, Europe and North America and these results suggest this vaccine candidate is on track to play an important role in overcoming the pandemic.”
Juan Carlos Jaramillo, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Valneva, commented: “I would like to thank the trial investigators as well as all trial participants and collaborators, especially the National Institute for Health Research and the clinical teams within the NHS Research Centres as well as Public Health England.
“This outcome shows the value of the collaboration that we started in September 2020 and we could not have achieved this milestone without them. We’ll continue to work very closely with the MHRA to complete our rolling submission for approval.”
Lina Adams
