Valneva to lay off up to 15%, faces tough travel vaccine market
Valneva is deliberate to shrink its headcount by up to 15% because the French vaccine developer continues to search methods to lower prices.
The firm—whose vaccines embody the Japanese encephalitis shot Ixiaro and the cholera vaccine Dukoral—noticed first-quarter 2026 revenue drop to 30.9 million euros ($36.2 million) from 49.2 million euros ($57.6 million) for a similar interval a 12 months in the past. Valneva partly attributed this drop-off to the deliberate wind-down of its aspect enterprise of distributing Bavarian Nordic vaccines in sure territories.
But even taking this alteration under consideration, the broader image is wanting tough for Valneva. The firm disclosed this morning that its 2026 gross sales expectations have dropped from a spread of between 145 million euros and 160 million euros ($170 million and $187 million) to 135 million euros and 150 million euros ($158 million and $175 million). The biopharma attributed this alteration to “an emerging adverse trend in travel vaccine uptake across key markets, driven by geopolitical factors.”
The firm’s troubles have not been restricted to the industrial entrance. Valneva is continuing to try and get its Pfizer-partnered Lyme illness vaccine accepted, regardless of lacking the first endpoint of a pivotal trial.
Meanwhile, the French biopharma lately pulled its first-of-its-kind chikungunya vaccine Ixchiq from the US market after the FDA raised some severe security issues, together with one loss of life from encephalitis that the company mentioned was “directly attributable” to the vaccine.
“Our first-quarter sales reflect the sharp decline in third-party products and our planned focus on proprietary products,” Valneva’s Chief Financial Officer Peter Bühler mentioned on this morning’s launch. “We also see the first indications of the geopolitical situation adversely affecting travel.”
He added, “We continued to reduce our operating cash burn meaningfully and, combined with further cost saving measures and our strengthened balance sheet following the successful financing completed in April, we expect a solid cash position through the potential regulatory approvals of our Lyme disease vaccine.”
This consists of “a further restructuring plan designed to streamline its global business operations,” which can lead to a discount in world headcount of between 10% and 15%, in accordance to the discharge. The firm entered the year with a workforce of 674 workers unfold throughout Austria, Canada, France, Sweden, the UK and the US
The newest layoffs comply with Valneva’s announcement late final 12 months that it could close down a preclinical R&D site in Nantes, France, impacting 30 workers. It meant that each one French operations have been consolidated at Valneva’s Lyon location, whereas all R&D work will happen on the biopharma’s web site in Vienna, Austria.
The mixed modifications are anticipated to scale back 2026 working prices by 25% to 35%, the corporate mentioned in Wednesday’s launch.
