IVI, Bharat Biotech start Phase II/III Chikungunya vaccine trials in Costa Rica

The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) and Bharat Biotech International Ltd (BBIL) have started Phase II/III trials of Global Chikungunya Vaccine in Costa Rica. The study is funded by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) with support from the Ind-CEPI mission of the Department of Biotechnology, India. 

Alongside the trial at Clinica San Agustin in Costa Rica, trials are expected to commence in Panama and Colombia by September 2021, and later in Thailand and Guatemala. 

In a released statement, IVI said, "The first participant received Bharat Biotech’s Chikungunya vaccine candidate (BBV87) in a Phase II/III clinical trial in Costa Rica, marking the start of a multi-country study led by IVI in partnership with Bharat Biotech".

The chairman and managing director of Bharat Biotech International Limited, Krishna Ella, said, "Epidemic preparedness is a vital step in public health care. Bharat Biotech’s vaccine candidate is an ingenious, well-researched vaccine, and we thank the first volunteer from Costa Rica for participating in this study."

Director of Vaccine R&D, CEPI, Dr Melanie Saville, said, "This Phase II/III study by IVI and BBIL in Costa Rica and other countries in the near future, strengthens efforts to bring an end to this public health crisis". 

Hyderabad-based vaccine

Hyderabad-based Bharat Bio’s BBV87 inactivated whole virion vaccine is based on a strain derived from an East, Central, South African (ECSA) genotype. After the completion of standard pre-clinical studies, an optimum immune response was elicited by the adjuvanted vaccine in phase 1 clinical trials in India. 

The Global Chikungunya Vaccine Clinical Development Program (GCCDP) looks forward to developing and manufacturing the Chikungunya vaccine with the aim of achieving WHO prequalification. It further wants this developed vaccine to enable its distribution in low and middle-income countries, consistent with CEPI’s core commitment to equitable access, affordability, and sustainability.

About Chikungunya virus

Chikungunya virus was first identified in 1952 in Tanzania. The virus was considered a threat with sporadic outbreaks of the disease reported subsequently across Africa and Asia. In 2004, the disease began to spread, causing large-scale outbreaks around the world. Since the re-emergence of the virus, the total number of cases has been estimated at over 3.4 million across 43 countries.
 
Chikungunya is caused and spread by the bites of infected female Aedes mosquitoes. Some of the symptoms include fever, severe joint pain, muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue, and rash.