Lyme is a growing problem, with cases rising and warming weather helping ticks expand their habitat.
Early antibiotic treatment is crucial, but it can be hard for people to tell if they were bitten by ticks, some as small as a pin. Untreated Lyme can cause severe arthritis and damage the heart and nervous system. Some people have lingering symptoms even after treatment.
In small, early-stage studies, Pfizer and Valneva reported no safety problems and a good immune response. The newest study will test if the vaccine, called VLA15, really protects and is safe. The companies aim to recruit at least 6,000 people in Lyme-prone areas including the Northeast U.S. plus Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden.
Volunteers can be as young as 5 and should be at high risk because they spend a lot of time in tick-infested areas, such as hikers, campers and hunters, said Dr. Alan Kivitz who heads one of the study sites at Altoona Center for Clinical Research in Duncansville, Pennsylvania. This new candidate is different from a previous Lyme vaccine that GlaxoSmithKline pulled off the market in 2002 amid controversy and low sales. With about 75% effectiveness, that old Lyme shot got a lukewarm endorsement from vaccine experts, wasn't tested in children and drew unsubstantiated reports of joint-related side effects.