3-Antigen Hepatitis B Vaccine Expands European Access

France-based Valneva SE and VBI Vaccines Inc. today announced a partnership in certain European countries for the marketing and distribution of PreHevbri®, a 3-antigen hepatitis B vaccine.

PreHevbri® [Hepatitis B vaccine (recombinant, adsorbed)] comprises the three hepatitis B surface antigens of the hepatitis B virus – S, pre-S1, and pre-S2.

It is approved for use in the European Union/European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Israel.

The brand names for this vaccine are PreHevbri™ (EU/EEA/UK), PreHevbrio™ (US), and Sci-B-Vac® (Israel).

Jeff Baxter, President and CEO of VBI, commented in a press release on September 8, 2022, "Valneva has substantial local knowledge, experience, and relationships in each of these European countries where we expect to launch, which will be of critical value as we work, collectively, to provide broad access to this differentiated 3-antigen HBV vaccine in Europe."

Under the terms of the new agreement, specialty vaccine company Valneva will promote and distribute PreHevbri throughout select European countries, which initially include the United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Valneva and VBI expect PreHevbri to be available in these countries in early 2023.

Hepatitis B is a vaccine-preventable liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). It is one of the world's most significant infectious disease threats, with more than 290 million people infected globally.

HBV infection is the leading cause of liver disease, and, with current treatments, it is complicated to cure, with many patients developing liver cancers.

The risk for chronic infection is related to age at infection: about 90% of infants with hepatitis B develop chronic disease, whereas about 6% of people who get hepatitis B as adults become chronically infected. 

An estimated 900,000 people die each year from complications of chronic HBV, such as liver decompensation, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma.

The U.S. CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends that the following people receive hepatitis B vaccination: All infants, Unvaccinated children aged <19 years, Adults aged 19 through 59 years, and Adults aged 60 years and older with risk factors for hepatitis B.

Other hepatitis vaccine news is posted at PrecisionVaccinations.com/Hepatitis.