Pfizer and Valenva are seeking regulatory approval from the Food and Drug Administration for a Lyme disease vaccine in development that's more than 70% effective against the tick-borne illness. Although fewer-than-expected cases in the study made it difficult to assess the vaccine's effectiveness on a large scale.
When compared to a placebo, the vaccine showed a 73.2% efficacy rate against confirmed Lyme disease cases beginning 28 days following the fourth dosage.
Pfizer is more confident "in the vaccine's potential" as it prepares "submissions to regulatory authorities" after a second planned analysis, the company said in a recent statement.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Lyme is the most common disease transmitted through tick bites. Currently, there are no approved vaccines available that prevent Lyme disease, which is spread by the blacklegged tick and Western blacklegged tick, commonly known as deer ticks. The CDC estimates that roughly 476,000 Americans are diagnosed with the illness each year.
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