Valneva SE has signed a $42 million contract with the U.S. Department of Defense for the supply of its Japanese encephalitis (JE) vaccine IXIARO. First deliveries are expected in the coming weeks.
 
JE is a serious and growing public health threat in Asia. The U.S. Department of Defense has been using IXIARO for approximately 360,000 U.S. military and civilian personnel and their families working and living in endemic countries since 2010.
 
Thomas Lingelbach, president and chief executive officer, and Franck Grimaud, deputy CEO of Valneva said, “With a mortality rate that can reach 30% and neurological sequelae for half of the survivors, Japanese encephalitis is a clear danger to the thousands of military personnel and their families stationed in areas where the disease is endemic. We feel honored that the U.S. DoD continues to acknowledge our vaccine as the best protection against the disease.”
 
IXIARO is the only JE vaccine approved in the U.S. Valneva has established its own global marketing and distribution network in 2H15 and now markets and distributes IXIARO directly to the U.S. military.