Valneva has met its revenue growth target for 2024, fending off slower-than-expected sales for the chikungunya vaccine Ixchiq.
The French vaccine specialist posted total revenues of 鈧�169.6m ($177.4m) in preliminary 2024 results, up 10% from 2023.聽Product sales, meanwhile, grew 13%, up from 鈧�144.6 in 2023 to 鈧�169.6m in 2024.
Shares in the Paris exchange-listed company rose 1.7% when the market opened on 18 February. Valneva has a market cap of 鈧�561m.
鈥淥nce again, we successfully delivered double-digit sales growth, despite lower than anticipated launch-year Ixchiq sales in the US,鈥� said Valneva鈥檚 chief financial officer Peter B眉hler.
Valneva expects total revenues for the company to grow to 鈧�180m鈥撯偓190m in 2025, though the biotech stated it will 鈥渇ocus on cash management鈥� to sustain its cash runway. The company expects a 鈥渟ubstantially lower鈥� cash burn in 2025 and plans to spend less than half of what it did last year. Current cash reserves for Valneva stand at 鈧�168.3m, buoyed significantly from the sale of a priority review voucher early in 2024.
B眉hler added: 鈥淚n 2025, we will continue to focus on commercial execution while investing strategically in advancing our science-driven pipeline to generate substantial future value鈥e are entering 2025 in a good financial position to support these objectives.鈥�
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By GlobalDataWhilst Valneva has not yet revealed a breakdown of product sales, it is no secret that the company has placed significant commercial effort behind Ixchiq. The vaccine, approved in the US, Europe, and Canada for preventing the mosquito-borne disease, has commonly been at the forefront of Valneva鈥檚 presentations, touted as the 鈥渨orld鈥檚 first approved chikungunya vaccine鈥�.
Ixchiq was launched last year following US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in November 2023, though sales for the vaccine have been underwhelming. In the first nine months of 2024, Ixchiq generated 鈧�1.8m in sales. At the time, Valneva said that sales in the US started slow, forcing a company review of sales guidance for the vaccine.
To add to the pressures, Valneva lost its claim of having the world鈥檚 only licensed chikungunya vaccine this week. The biotech will now have to compete with Bavarian Nordic in the US chikungunya market after the latter received FDA approval for its Vimkunya vaccine. Bavarian Nordic already has an advantage over Valneva as its product is indicated for individuals aged 12 years and older, whereas Ixchiq can currently only be used in adults.
Valneva has, however, filed label extensions to include adolescents to the FDA, European Medicines Agency (EMA), and Health Canada as it aims to match Vimkunya鈥檚 accessibility. A key milestone for Valneva could come in Brazil, where the vaccine is under review for marketing approval. If approved, it would become the first country endemic with the disease to market Ixchiq.
Eyes will be on Valneva鈥檚 pipeline this year as the biotech looks to complete two ongoing Phase III studies (NCT05477524 and NCT05634811) for the Lyme disease vaccine VLA15. Being developed in collaboration with Pfizer, the candidate is currently the only vaccine programme in clinical development against Lyme disease. The two companies from a Phase II trial with VLA15 in September 2024.
