Our Take
This is infrastructure play, not a breakthrough vaccine: the candidate has already passed Phase I/II in 600 people; now it's about proving it works in African populations and moving manufacturing to the continent.
Why it matters
Chikungunya cases across Africa have risen sharply over the past two decades, yet available vaccines remain too expensive and inaccessible for endemic regions. A locally-manufactured, affordable option closes a 20-year gap in outbreak preparedness.
Do this week
Public health directors in endemic regions: map chikungunya burden in your district (case counts, hospitalization rates, seasonal patterns) before Q2 2025 so you can align vaccination strategy with the trial results timeline.
€15.3 Million EU Grant Backs African Chikungunya Vaccine Test and Local Manufacturing
Institut Pasteur has launched ACT-CHIK, a four-year research project funded by the European Union's Horizon Europe program with €15.3 million in support. The initiative will conduct a Phase Ib/III clinical trial of MV-CHIK, a measles-virus-based chikungunya vaccine originally developed at Institut Pasteur in Paris, across four African countries: Rwanda, Kenya, Nigeria, and Senegal.
The trial will enroll 940 participants—adults, adolescents, and children—in both endemic and non-endemic areas. Six prior Phase I and II trials conducted in Europe, the United States, and Puerto Rico included approximately 600 adult participants and showed satisfactory safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity profiles (per Institut Pasteur). The new African trial is designed to generate safety and efficacy data in the populations most affected by the disease.
Beyond clinical evaluation, ACT-CHIK includes a manufacturing component. Institut Pasteur de Dakar, Africa's only WHO-prequalified vaccine manufacturer, will receive the MV-CHIK manufacturing process through technology transfer. Fundação Oswaldo Cruz in Brazil will prepare clinical trial materials and provide vaccine manufacturing expertise. The consortium also includes the University of Rwanda, Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Kenya Medical Research Institute, and the International Vaccine Institute in Seoul.
The project directly supports the African Union's goal to produce 60% of the continent's vaccine needs locally by 2040.
Chikungunya Has Been Neglected Despite Rising Case Loads
Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne viral disease transmitted by Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. It causes high fever, debilitating joint pain that can persist for months or years, headache, rash, and fatigue. Over the past two decades, reported cases across Africa have risen sharply, yet the disease remains largely underdiagnosed and under-reported, particularly in regions where multiple arboviruses and malaria co-circulate.
Climate change is expanding the range of mosquito vectors globally, with Africa facing the highest exposure. Meanwhile, existing chikungunya vaccines remain largely limited to travelers because cost and access barriers prevent deployment in endemic regions. A live-attenuated vaccine manufactured locally at lower cost would address this equity gap and strengthen outbreak preparedness where it is most needed.
What Public Health Officials Should Monitor
ACT-CHIK will generate critical epidemiological and immunogenicity data specific to African populations over the next four years. Trial results are expected to inform regulatory pathways for vaccine licensure across the continent through engagement with national authorities and WHO prequalification teams.
The technology transfer to Institut Pasteur de Dakar is the second critical milestone. Success depends on gap analysis, regulatory alignment, and manufacturing scale-up. If completed on schedule, local production could reduce vaccine cost and delivery time, lowering barriers to mass vaccination in endemic countries. Public health programs should track trial enrollment progress and manufacturing readiness milestones in 2025 and 2026 to plan procurement strategy.