Valneva: U.S. DoD Exercises First Year Option on IXIARO® Supply Contract
Valneva SE (Nasdaq: VALN; Euronext Paris: VLA) a specialty vaccine company, today announced that the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has exercised the first option of the contract signed in September 2020[1] to purchase further supply of its Japanese encephalitis (JE) vaccine IXIARO®.
Due to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on DoD operations, the option terms have been amended such that the minimum number of doses for the first option year is now 200,000 with an approximate value of $28.8 million. This brings the total minimum value of the contract to approximately $118 million, assuming the exercise of the second year option which remains unchanged, compared to a minimum value of $135 million in the initial contract.
In order to support its customer through this pandemic period, Valneva will also provide additional inventory to DoD after September 2023 to mitigate the potential impact of unused stock that may expire. This replacement inventory will be provided free of charge and will be recognized as deferred revenue of up to $9 million beginning in fiscal year 2021.
Franck Grimaud, President and Chief Business Officer of Valneva, commented “We thank the DoD for their renewed confidence. It is important that we continue to support our customers, both large and small, to help them navigate through the uncertainty caused by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their operations”.
Shipments associated with the option will commence immediately.
About Japanese Encephalitis
Japanese encephalitis is a deadly infectious disease found mainly in Asia. About 70,000 cases of JE are estimated to occur in Asia each year, although the actual number of cases is likely much higher due to underreporting in rural areas. JE is fatal in approximately 30 percent of those who show symptoms, and leaves half of survivors with permanent brain damage. The disease is endemic in Southeast Asia, India and China, a region with a population of more than three billion. In 2005, JE killed more than 1,200 children in only one month during an epidemic outbreak in Uttar Pradesh, India, and Nepal.
About Valneva SE
Valneva is a specialty vaccine company focused on the development and commercialization of prophylactic vaccines for infectious diseases with significant unmet medical need. The Company takes a highly specialized and targeted approach to vaccine development, beginning with the identification of deadly and debilitating infectious diseases that lack a prophylactic vaccine solution and for which there are limited therapeutic treatment options. It then applies its deep understanding of vaccine science, including its expertise across multiple vaccine modalities, as well as its established vaccine development capabilities, to develop prophylactic vaccines to address these diseases. The Company has leveraged its expertise and capabilities both to successfully commercialize two vaccines and to rapidly advance a broad range of vaccine candidates into and through the clinic, including candidates against Lyme disease, the chikungunya virus and COVID-19.
Media & Investor Contacts
Laëtitia Bachelot-Fontaine
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Joshua Drumm, Ph.D.
VP Global Investor Relations
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joshua.drumm@valneva.com