Biological E's Japanese Encephalitis vaccine prequalified by WHO

Indian biopharmaceutical company Biological E (BioE) and European biotech company Valneva (Euronext: VLA) revealed that the World Health Organization has awarded prequalification for global use in adults of BioE’s Japanese Encephalitis vaccine.

This is the first prequalification of a Japanese Encephalitis vaccine, and is a key step in ensuring the vaccine can be distributed to developing countries. BioE says it also expects the pediatric indication to be prequalified by the end of the year.

Valneva, a new European biotech company focused on vaccine development and antibody discovery created in 2013 through the merger between Intercell AG and Vivalis SA., recently agreed to sell its Clinical Manufacturing Operations (CMO) in Nantes, France, to BioE (The Pharma Letter June 7).