Lyme disease vaccine 70 percent effective: Pfizer

A Lyme disease vaccine produced by Pfizer and Valneva was deemed 70 percent effective by the companies after they reviewed the results from a phase 3 trial.

If approved by regulators, it would be the only vaccine for humans against Lyme disease. 

“Lyme disease can cause potentially serious consequences – where individuals and families face symptoms that can disrupt daily life, work, and long-term health – and there is currently no vaccine available,” said Annaliesa Anderson, senior vice president and chief vaccines officer for Pfizer, said in a statement."

“The efficacy shown in the VALOR study of more than 70% is highly encouraging and creates confidence in the vaccine’s potential to protect against this disease that can be debilitating,” she added.

During the trial, there were fewer cases of Lyme disease than expected, resulting in the companies failig to meet pre-determined statistical criterion in the first round of analysis. 

However, criterion was met during the second pre-specified analysis, leading the two companies to prepare to submit the vaccine to regulatory agencies for review. 

Trial results have not yet been studied or peer reviewed, according to the Washington Post.

The last Lyme vaccine, LYMErix, debuted in 1998 but was pulled after four years due to low sales driven by concerns about potentially adverse effects. 

It was said to reduce new infections in vaccinated adults by nearly 80 percent, according to an editorial review published by the Cambridge University Press.

The disease is spread to hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. each year by blacklegged ticks. Infected ticks must be attached for more than 24 hours to transmit infection; prompt tick removal can prevent transmission, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

It’s typically contracted during outdoors activities and ultimately treated with a 10- to 14-day course of oral antibiotics, according to the University of Pennsylvania. 

If left untreated, Lyme disease can cause severe arthritis, neurological issues and cardiac complications.