Valneva Bets Big on Lyme Vaccine at J.P. Morgan Conference

SAINT HERBLAIN, France – January 09, 2026 – Specialty vaccine developer Valneva SE is heading to the prestigious 44th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco next week, where its leadership will engage in high-stakes meetings with shareholders and institutional investors. While the company will showcase its entire portfolio, the undisputed centerpiece of these discussions will be the imminent pivotal data from its Lyme disease vaccine candidate, VLA15, a program poised to be a major catalyst for the company's valuation and a potential landmark in public health.

CEO Thomas Lingelbach and CFO Peter Bühler are scheduled for a series of one-on-one meetings from January 12-14. The timing is critical. Valneva has guided that the pivotal data readout for VLA15, which is being co-developed with pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, is expected in the first half of this year. This makes the J.P. Morgan conference a crucial platform for Valneva to set the narrative, manage expectations, and reinforce investor confidence ahead of what could be a transformational event for the French firm.

The High-Stakes Investor Pitch

The J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference is the Super Bowl of biotech investment, a venue where company narratives can capture the market's imagination or fall flat. For Valneva, the stakes are particularly high. With a market capitalization hovering around $850 million, the company is at an inflection point. While its stock has seen a respectable 12% gain over the past year, analysts believe its true potential is tethered to the success of its pipeline, especially VLA15.

Wall Street sentiment is currently bullish, with a consensus “Strong Buy” rating and average price targets suggesting a potential upside of over 50% from its current trading price. This optimism is largely fueled by the promise of the Lyme vaccine. Investors will be listening intently for any new details or nuances in the management's commentary regarding the timeline and their confidence in the upcoming data.

Financially, Valneva has been strengthening its position. The company reported a 10% increase in total revenues to €169.6 million for 2024 and significantly narrowed its net loss, aided by the sale of a Priority Review Voucher. With a solid cash position of €168.3 million at the end of 2024 and a focus on reducing cash burn, the company is presenting itself as a fiscally responsible developer on the cusp of a major product launch. The meetings in San Francisco are an opportunity to underscore this narrative of a mature, commercially-minded biotech firm ready for its next chapter.

A Shot Against a Silent Epidemic

The anticipation surrounding VLA15 extends far beyond financial markets. Lyme disease, a bacterial infection transmitted by tick bites, is a growing public health crisis with hundreds of thousands of estimated cases annually in the United States and Europe. The disease can cause debilitating long-term symptoms if not treated early, and there is currently no approved human vaccine available. The last one, SmithKline Beecham's LYMErix, was withdrawn from the market in 2002 amid declining sales and media controversy over its side effects, leaving a two-decade void.

Valneva and Pfizer’s VLA15 aims to fill that void. It is a multivalent protein subunit vaccine designed to provide protection against the six most common serotypes of the Borrelia bacterium found in North America and Europe. The vaccine works by targeting the Outer Surface Protein A (OspA) of the bacteria, aiming to induce antibodies that prevent the bacteria from being transmitted from an infected tick to a human.

The partnership with Pfizer, initiated in 2020, has been crucial, lending financial muscle and commercial expertise to the project. Under the agreement, Pfizer leads the late-stage development and future commercialization, while Valneva is eligible for significant milestone payments and tiered royalties on sales, starting at 14%. The ongoing Phase 3 VALOR study is a massive undertaking, having enrolled nearly 9,500 participants aged five and older across endemic regions. Positive results from this trial would pave the way for regulatory submissions to the FDA and European Medicines Agency later in 2026, with a potential market launch in 2027.

A Crowded Field of Innovation

While Valneva and Pfizer currently lead the race with the only Lyme vaccine candidate in advanced clinical trials, they are not entirely alone. The significant unmet medical need has spurred a new wave of innovation from competitors employing next-generation technologies.

Moderna is leveraging its mRNA expertise to develop two separate vaccine candidates against Lyme disease, with human trials already underway. Meanwhile, MassBiologics at the University of Massachusetts Medical School is pursuing a different strategy altogether with a monoclonal antibody designed to provide seasonal protection with a single annual shot, a concept known as passive immunization. While these programs are at earlier stages, their progress highlights a dynamic and competitive landscape where Valneva’s first-mover advantage will be critical.

This competitive pressure underscores the importance of a successful and timely launch for VLA15. Investors at the J.P. Morgan conference will likely probe Valneva's management on their strategy to navigate this evolving market and secure a dominant position should the vaccine be approved.

A Diversified Foundation

Beyond the headline-grabbing Lyme program, Valneva's leadership will also remind investors of its existing commercial business, which provides a steady revenue stream and a degree of insulation from the binary risks of clinical trials. The company currently markets three proprietary travel vaccines: IXIARO for Japanese encephalitis, DUKORAL for cholera, and the recently approved IXCHIQ for chikungunya.

Sales of IXIARO have been particularly strong, growing 28% in 2024 to €94.1 million, driven by demand from both travelers and the U.S. military. However, the commercial story is not without its challenges. The launch of IXCHIQ, the world's first approved chikungunya vaccine, has faced headwinds, including lower-than-expected sales in the U.S. and a recent marketing authorization revocation by the FDA that prompted a downward revision of 2025 guidance. This mixed performance highlights the complexities of vaccine commercialization.

Strategically, Valneva is also streamlining its operations by phasing out its distribution of third-party products to improve gross margins. This move, combined with its robust internal pipeline that also includes a promising Shigella vaccine candidate, paints a picture of a company honing its focus on high-value, proprietary assets. As Valneva presents its case to the investment world, it will be this balance of a foundational commercial business and a high-impact pipeline that forms the core of its value proposition. For Valneva, the discussions in San Francisco are not just about showcasing progress; they are about setting the stage for a year that could redefine its position in the global vaccine market.