VIMKUNYA® Deal Between NIH and Bavarian Nordic Receives LES Deal of Distinction Award

Original Story: Chikungunya Vaccine License Receives LES Deal of Distinction Award (Jan. 2026 NIH Technology Transfer Community Newsletter), by Richelle Holnick, OTT

At the Licensing Executives Society (LES) USA-Canada 2025 Annual Meeting, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Technology Transfer Program received its record seventh Deal of Distinction Award for a partnership with Bavarian Nordic that led to a new chikungunya virus vaccine called VIMKUNYA®.

Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne disease caused by the virus of the same name. Due to the highly infectious nature of the virus, the VIMKUNYA vaccine is a major public health development.

In 2024 alone, 620,000 cases of chikungunya and more than 200 deaths were reported worldwide. Since its discovery, chikungunya has been identified in more than 100 countries, and evidence of transmission has been confirmed in more than 50 countries over the past five years.

Most patients recover from chikungunya, but 30 – 40% of those affected may develop chronic symptoms that can last for months or years. Chikungunya can also be severely underreported and is often misdiagnosed as the milder dengue fever. As climate change continues to increase the presence and reach of mosquito-borne illnesses, VIMKUNYA shows the importance of cutting-edge solutions to safeguard travelers and vulnerable populations.

On Feb. 14, 2025, VIMKUNYA received approval from the Food and Drug Administration as the first virus-like particle (VLP) single-dose chikungunya vaccine and the first of those vaccines for individuals over the age of 12. The vaccine uses virus-like particles designed to mimic the chikungunya virus without the ability to infect cells, replicate, or cause disease.

The non-exclusive license between NIH and Bavarian Nordic consists of 15 issued U.S. patents and corresponding international patents related to the development and use of a VLP-based chikungunya virus vaccine.

LES awarded this 2025 Deal of Distinction Award to NIH, and specifically the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, as the tech came out of its vaccine research center.