Pfizer Begins Late-Stage Clinical Trial of Lyme Disease Vaccine as Rate of Tick-Borne Illnesses Rise

A new vaccine to treat Lyme disease is in its final stages of development.

About 6,000 people around the globe are enrolled in clinical trials for the drug, which is being developed by Pfizer and Valneva, a French pharmaceutical company, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.

The proposed new drug comes as cases surge around the world, in part due to climate change. The incidence of Lyme disease in the United States has nearly doubled since 1991, according to the EPA.

"With increasing global rates of Lyme disease, providing a new option for people to help protect themselves from the disease is more important than ever," Annaliesa Anderson, senior vice president and head of vaccine research and development at Pfizer, said in a statement. "We hope that the data generated from the Phase 3 study will further support the positive evidence for VLA15 to date, and we are looking forward to collaborating with the research sites across the U.S. and Europe on this important trial."

Participants in the study will receive three doses of the vaccine or a placebo, followed by a booster of the VLA15 or a placebo, according to the pharmaceutical company.

The study involves participants 5 years of age and older in about 50 sites around the globe where Lyme disease is "highly endemic," including Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and the United States, Pfizer said.

If the trials are successful, paving the way for approval by the Food and Drug Administration, the treatment would be the first verified for Lyme Disease in two decades.

A vaccine called LYMErix was available in the late 1990s, but was discontinued in 2002 due to poor sales, according to NBC News.

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Once thought to be prevalent only in New England, the disease is the most common vector-borne disease in the U.S. Cases have been reported in all 50 states, per The Post.

According to the CDC, Lyme Disease is caused by a bacterium that is transmitted to humans through a bite from a blacklegged tick.

Typical symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue and a telltale "target" rash called erythema migrans, per the CDC.

If left untreated, the infection can spread to the heart, joints and nervous system.