COPENHAGEN, Denmark, April 16, 2026 - Bavarian Nordic A/S (OMX: BAVA) today announced that the Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products, Swissmedic, has approved VIMKUNYA (recombinant, adsorbed) for active immunization for the prevention of disease caused by chikungunya virus in individuals aged 12 years and above.
The virus-like particle (VLP) single-dose vaccine is the first chikungunya vaccine to receive approval in Switzerland and was approved following review of the regulatory dossier submitted in July 2025, upon the FDA and EMA approvals of the vaccine earlier in 2025.
"The Swiss approval marks another important milestone in our endeavors to bring protection against chikungunya to more people and reinforces our commitment to expanding access to our vaccine globally," said Paul Chaplin, President & CEO of Bavarian Nordic.
The approval of VIMKUNYA in Switzerland marks the fourth approval of Bavarian Nordic's chikungunya vaccine, which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Commission and the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in 2025. Bavarian Nordic has also submitted an application to Health Canada, potentially supporting approval of the chikungunya vaccine in the first half of 2026.
About VIMKUNYA Chikungunya vaccine (recombinant, adsorbed)
VIMKUNYA is a single dose, prefilled, adjuvanted VLP recombinant protein vaccine for active immunization for the prevention of disease caused by chikungunya virus (CHIKV) in individuals 12 years and older. It is designed to induce a robust seroresponse, with protective immunity starting to develop as early as 1 week after vaccination.
The vaccine does not contain viral genetic material and is therefore non-infectious and unable to cause disease, ensuring a broad range of people can benefit from vaccination.
About chikungunya
Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne disease caused by the chikungunya virus. In the past 20 years, the virus has emerged across several regions in Asia, Africa, and the Americas, including many popular travel destinations, often causing large unpredictable outbreaks. Since its discovery, chikungunya has been identified in more than 110 countries1. Chikungunya typically presents with acute symptoms, including fever, rash, fatigue, headache, and often severe and incapacitating joint pain. Most patients recover, but 30-40% of those affected may develop chronic symptoms that can last for months or even years2. In 2025, more than 500,000 cases of chikungunya and nearly 200 associated deaths were reported worldwide3. In Europe, more than 1,000 cases of local transmission were reported in 2025 from outbreaks in France and Italy4. Recent data suggest that chikungunya is severely underreported and often misdiagnosed as dengue fever due to a similar symptom profile5.
About Bavarian Nordic
Bavarian Nordic is a global vaccine company with a mission to improve health and save lives through innovative vaccines. We are a preferred supplier of mpox and smallpox vaccines to governments to enhance public health preparedness and have a leading portfolio of travel vaccines. For more information, visit www.bavarian-nordic.com.
Contact investors:
Europe: Disa Tuominen, IR Manager, detu@bavarian-nordic.com
US: Graham Morrell, Gilmartin Group, graham@gilmartinir.com, Tel: +1 781 686 9600
Contact media:
Nicole Seroff, Vice President Corporate Affairs, nise@bavarian-nordic.com, Tel: +45 53 88 06 03
1 World Health Organization (WHO). Chikungunya.https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/chikungunya
2 European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Chikungunya virus disease. https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/chikungunya-virus-disease.
3 World Health Organization (WHO). WHO Rapid Risk Assessment - Chikungunya virus disease, Global v.1. https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/who-rapid-risk-assessment---chikungunya-virus--global-v.1.
4 European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Seasonal surveillance of chikungunya virus disease in the EU/EEA, weekly report. https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/chikungunya-virus-disease/surveillance-and-updates/seasonal-surveillance
5 Ribas Freitas AR, Pinheiro Chagas AA, Siqueira AM, Pamplona de Góes Cavalcanti L. How much of the current serious arbovirus epidemic in Brazil is dengue and how much is chikungunya? Lancet Reg Health Am. 2024 Apr 30;34:100753. doi: 10.1016/j.lana.2024.100753. PMID: 38711542; PMCID: PMC11070701.
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- Bavarian Nordic Receives Swissmedic Approval for Chikungunya Vaccine
