UK MHRA authorizes Bavarian Nordic’s Chikungunya vaccine, Vimkunya

UK—The UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has granted marketing authorisation to Bavarian Nordic’s Vimkunya vaccine, a recombinant, adsorbed vaccine developed to prevent chikungunya virus infection in individuals aged 12 and above.

This approval follows a streamlined international recognition procedure, which allowed the UK to acknowledge the vaccine’s recent approval by the European Commission.

As a result, Vimkunya is expected to become available in the UK by the summer of 2025.

Vimkunya is not only authorised in the UK, but has also received approvals from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Commission, reflecting its growing global acceptance.

In addition, Bavarian Nordic has submitted an application for approval to Health Canada, with a potential decision anticipated in the first half of 2026.

This vaccine is designed as a prefilled, single-dose, adjuvanted, virus-like particle recombinant protein vaccine.

It is intended for active immunisation to prevent chikungunya virus infection in eligible individuals.

The authorisations in the UK, EU, and US were supported by robust data from two Phase III clinical trials.

These trials enrolled approximately 3,500 healthy participants and successfully met their primary endpoints, demonstrating that Vimkunya induced neutralising antibodies in up to 97.8% of vaccinated subjects within 21 days of receiving the shot.

The vaccine was generally well tolerated, with the most frequent side effects being mild or moderate injection site pain, headache, muscle pain, and fatigue.

The need for a chikungunya vaccine is highlighted by the disease’s growing threat. Chikungunya, a mosquito-borne viral illness, is most commonly a risk for UK citizens travelling to affected regions in the Americas, Africa, and Asia.

However, recent research has shown that invasive mosquitoes capable of transmitting the virus have now established themselves in many parts of Southern Europe and are moving further north, a trend attributed to climate change.

This geographic expansion increases the potential risk of local transmission in areas previously unaffected.

Bavarian Nordic’s CEO, Paul Chaplin, emphasised that while the spread of these mosquitoes cannot be halted, vaccines like Vimkunya offer a vital preventive measure to mitigate the impact of emerging diseases such as chikungunya.

He noted the company’s commitment to making the vaccine available to those at risk, especially as global travel resumes and climate change alters disease patterns.

It is also notable that the MHRA’s approval of Vimkunya comes just a few months after the agency authorised another chikungunya vaccine, Ixchiq, developed by France-based Valneva, which is available as a single-dose option for adults.

This demonstrates the UK’s proactive stance in expanding its arsenal against chikungunya and protecting its population, particularly travellers.

In parallel developments, Bavarian Nordic entered into a licence and manufacturing agreement with the Serum Institute of India in December 2024 for its mpox vaccine, MVA-BN, further expanding its global vaccine partnerships.

Sign up HERE to receive our email newsletters with the latest news and insights from Africa and beyond. Also, follow us on our WhatsApp channel for updates.