French vaccine maker Valneva said on May 13 it is planning to lay off 10 to 15 percent of its workforce, due to declining uptake of vaccines for travel.
Valneva said in a statement that its outlook has been impacted by “an emerging adverse trend in travel vaccine uptake across key markets, driven by geopolitical factors.”
The company makes vaccines against Japanese encephalitis, cholera, and the chikungunya virus.
Valneva recorded just 30.9 million euros ($35.9 million) in revenue in the first quarter of 2026, down from 49.2 million euros ($57.1 million) during the same period in 2025. It reported a loss of 32 million euros ($37.2 million), compared to a loss of 9.2 million euros in the previous first quarter.
To lower operating expenses, Valneva plans to focus on its vaccines and key projects such as an experimental Lyme disease vaccine.
Sales for the vaccine against Japanese encephalitis dropped by 7 million euros ($8.1 million) in the first quarter of 2026 from the first three months of 2025. Sales for the cholera vaccine declined by 3.7 million euros ($4.3 million). And sales for Ixchiq, Valneva’s chikungunya virus vaccine, nearly halved, dropping to 1.6 million euros ($1.8 million).
The drop was partly due to outbreaks of cholera and chikungunya virus in 2025 that did not recur in 2026, Valneva said, driving down sales both in the areas that saw outbreaks as well as the United States, and the company’s move to stop distribution of vaccines from another company to focus on its own immunizations.
On an earnings call, Peter Bühler, Valneva’s chief financial officer, mentioned the Middle East, where the United States and Iran are engaged in a war, as one of the geopolitical factors that has impacted the company.
Valneva adjusted its 2026 sales forecast from a range of 145 million–160 million euros ($168.5 million–$186 million) to a range of 135 million–150 million euros ($157 million–$174 million).
“Where we will land in this range, we can’t say, of course, that’s why we gave the range. Right now we feel comfortable that it’s appropriate. What happens for the remainder of the year in terms of geopolitical situation, we can of course not give any guarantee,” Bühler said on the call. “I mean, if the overall situation in, especially in the Middle East, gets worse and the travel market gets affected, we cannot exclude it will have an impact.”
After U.S. authorities in 2025 raised concerns about Ixchiq’s safety profile, and suspended the shot, Valneva in January said it was withdrawing applications for reauthorization.
Sales of many vaccines have been declining in recent months, in the United States and elsewhere.
But executives expressed optimism moving forward for Ixchiq, noting a pilot program being executed in Brazil and testing on a vaccine candidate against shigellosis, which causes fatal diarrhea.
Executives also mentioned an experimental vaccine against Lyme disease that Valneva is developing with Pfizer. Although the vaccine did not meet the target in a clinical trial, the companies said in March that the results were strong enough to warrant seeking regulatory approval in the wide-open Lyme disease vaccine space.
“I’m confident in the prospect of not only [the] Lyme [vaccine], but also Valneva,” CEO Thomas Lingelbach told investors.