FDA Grants Fast Track Designation to Potential Chikungunya Virus Vaccine

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation to an investigative vaccine designed to prevent disease caused by chikungunya virus.

PaxVax, an independent specialty vaccine company, is developing the prophylaxis. Chikungunya — a disease which causes headache, muscle pain, skin rash, and severe joint pain that can persist for years — spreads through mosquito bites and can result in widespread outbreak. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the rate of infectious diseases transmitted from tick, flea, and mosquito bites to humans has more than tripled in the US in recent years.

Trials for the PaxVax vaccine, which is a virus-like particle (VLP) treatment licensed from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), recently began enrolling for a 400-paitent phase 2B dose-finding study. A previous phase 2A study conducted by the NIAID’s parent organization the National Institutes of Health (NIH) tested the vaccine’s effects in participants.

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