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Comment by rectang | Hacker News Reader

I wonder how widespread Lyme Disease has to get before the economic incentives to develop a new vaccine reach a tipping point.

There used to be a vaccine but it was discontinued because of insufficient demand.

https://www.niaid.nih.gov/diseases-conditions/lyme-disease-v...

"In April 2002, GSK announced that even with the incidence of Lyme disease continuing to rise, sales for LYMErix declined from about 1.5 million doses in 1999 to a projected 10,000 doses in 2002."

How do we square this with the number of cases rising so much over the last few years?

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I took the first two doses of LYMErix and started to get knee pain. I wasn't the only one. I'm pretty sure the reason they took it off the market is because is was causing issues.

LYMErix suffered from actual or imagined side-effects that led to lawsuits, which were a factor in GSK discontinuing it. From https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2870557/

"Spawned by the press coverage of vaccine risks and the ongoing litigation, vaccine sales fell off dramatically in 2001. "

there's at least one new vaccine in development http://www.valneva.com/en/rd/vla15

Aside from the rare negative effects, the major issues with it were the efficacy of around 80% and that it interfered with Lyme tests. (All of the people that took the vaccine test positive for Lyme Disease.) This uncertainty made it challenging to know the cause of future illness.

And only 80% effective means you still need to take all precautions like DEET and such.

Strangely enough you can get your dog vaccinated but not yourself.

>As of December 2016, a Phase I clinical trial was announced for a new candidate vaccine developed by the French company Valneva. The vaccine is similar to the SmithKlineBeecham product, but the vaccine is multivalent, targeting six Borrelia OspA serotypes. The trial will test vaccine safety, and a later Phase II trial will test efficacy.[xi] Baxter, an Austrian company, had previously tested another vaccine candidate in a combined Phase I/II trial, but the company seems to have abandoned development.[xii]

http://www.valneva.com/en/rd/vla15

Safety standards for animals are lower.

And higher risk to play outdoors all the time unprotected, and different methabolism.

Does the fda have jurisdiction over animal drugs? I’m surprised they’d do an official clinical trial.

Yes, the FDA approves animal drugs as well.

http://www.newsweek.com/lyme-disease-vaccine-valneva-fda-app...

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