制药公司正努力开发有效的防御手段以对抗莱姆病，因为日益严重的蜱虫季节使更多人面临风险。目前的研究重点集中在疫苗和能够阻断蜱虫感染能力的药物上。
Drugmakers are pushing to develop effective defenses against Lyme disease as intensifying tick seasons continue to put more people at risk, with trials focused on vaccines and on drugs designed to block the pests’ ability to infect.
在唯一一款在美国获批的莱姆病疫苗被撤出市场24年后，包括辉瑞公司（Pfizer Inc.）和莫德纳公司（Moderna Inc.）在内的企业加大了研发力度——与此同时，人们也越来越难以避开这些可能致病、以血液为食的蛛形纲动物。
Companies including Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc. have stepped up efforts 24 years after the only Lyme vaccine approved in the US was pulled off the market — and as people find it increasingly difficult to avoid the blood-feeding arachnids that can make them sick.
一种解决方案是开发新型疫苗，辉瑞及其合作伙伴瓦尔内瓦公司（Valneva SE），以及莫德纳都在此方向上发力。另一种方法则是通过药物提供短期保护，以中和蜱虫叮咬带来的威胁，例如托尼克斯制药公司（Tonix Pharmaceuticals）正在测试的抗体注射剂，以及塔尔苏斯制药公司（Tarsus Pharmaceuticals）研发的一种口服药片。
One answer is a new vaccine, the target for Pfizer and its partner Valneva SE, as well as Moderna. Another approach is to offer short-term protection with drugs thatneutralize the threat from tick bites, such as with an antibody shot being tested by Tonix Pharmaceuticals and a pill from Tarsus Pharmaceuticals.
福特汉姆大学路易斯·卡尔德尔中心（Louis Calder Center）主任托马斯·丹尼尔斯（Thomas Daniels）表示，在蜱虫叮咬再次激增之前，必须尽快找到一种高效且具备市场潜力的方案。该中心负责蜱传疾病的监测工作。
There’s urgency to find something efficient and marketable before another surge in tick bites, said Thomas Daniels, director of Fordham University’s Louis Calder Center, which conducts tick-disease surveillance. “It’s difficult not to worry about the future in terms of exposure to tick-borne pathogens,” he said.
“从接触蜱传病原体的角度来看，我们很难不对未来感到担忧，”他说。“在过去20到30年里，蜱传疾病传播得异常迅速。”辉瑞与瓦尔内瓦合作的疫苗项目目前进展最快，其三期临床试验结果已于今年3月公布。欧洲监管机构也已启动审批审查程序。美国的蜱虫季节通常从4月开始，一直持续到秋季。
“Tick diseases have spread remarkably quickly in the past 20 or 30 years.”The Pfizer-Valneva vaccine effort is the farthest along, with results from a late-stage clinical trial made public in March. European authorities have started a regulatory review. The US tick season typically kicks off in April and runs through the fall.
栖息地的扩大和活动季节的延长——部分原因是气温升高——都导致了感染病例的增加。今年的情况尤为严重。美国疾病控制与预防中心（CDC）报告称，8月份因蜱虫叮咬而前往急诊室就诊的人数达到了2019年以来该月份的最高水平。
Larger habitats and longer active seasons, fueled in part by warmer temperatures, have contributed to increases in infections. This year’s cycle was severe. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported emergency room visits for tick bites in August were at their highest level for the month since 2019.
在葛兰素史克（GSK Plc）的疫苗于1998年经美国食品药品监督管理局（FDA）短暂批准之前，美国每年约有1.6万例莱姆病病例。如今，根据美国疾病控制与预防中心（CDC）的数据，每年约有47.6万人被诊断并接受治疗。
Before GSK Plc’s short-lived vaccine was approved in 1998 by the US Food and Drug Administration, about 16,000 cases of Lyme were reported in the US each year. Now, according to the CDC, some 476,000 people are diagnosed and treated annually.
联邦政府已认识到这一威胁。美国卫生与公众服务部希望到2035年将莱姆病病例减少25%，并于上个月表示，将拨款约300万美元用于测试遏制蜱虫的新方法。美国总统唐纳德·特朗普最近也指示各机构，到2028年通过非化学手段将华盛顿特区的蜱虫数量减少50%。
The federal government has recognized the threat. The Department of Health and Human Services wants to cut Lyme cases 25% by 2035 and said last month it was awarding about $3 million to test novel ways to curtail ticks. President Donald Trump recently ordered agencies to reduce the number of ticks in Washington DC by 50% by 2028 through non-chemical methods.
目前尚不清楚莱姆病疫苗的市场需求会如何。今年3月，辉瑞（Pfizer）和瓦尔内瓦（Valneva）公布临床试验结果时，加拿大皇家银行资本市场（RBC Capital Markets）估计其峰值销售额可能达到5.25亿美元。
It’s unclear what demand would be for a Lyme vaccine. In March, when Pfizer and Valneva reported their trial results, RBC Capital Markets estimated peak sales might reach $525 million.
三期临床试验发现，该疫苗将莱姆病的风险降低了73%。尽管这一效果低于投资者的预期，但两家公司表示，它们对疫苗的前景充满信心。该疫苗通过刺激人体产生抗体，从而中和蜱虫体内的莱姆病致病菌。
The phase-three trial found their vaccine cut the risk of Lyme disease by 73%. While that was less than anticipated by investors, the companies said they’re confident about the potentialThe vaccine works by stimulating human antibodies that can neutralize Lyme-causing bacteria inside a tick.
辉瑞表示，无法明确说明向FDA申请批准的具体时间表。“我们正在为此努力，”一名发言人说道。
Pfizer said it couldn’t specify a timeline for seeking approval from the FDA. “We’re working toward that,” a spokesperson said.
欧洲药品管理局（EMA）已于8月启动了对欧盟市场的监管审查。
The European Medicines Agency started its regulatory review for the EU in August.
在莫德纳（Moderna），公司仍在开发两种疫苗候选产品，距离最终阶段的临床试验还有数年之遥。这两种疫苗都利用mRNA分子指导人体细胞产生免疫反应以对抗细菌。该公司发言人拒绝评论相关的时间表。
At Moderna, development continues on two vaccine candidates that are years away from final-stage trials. Both use the molecule mRNA to instruct human cells to produce an immune response to fight the bacteria. A company spokesperson declined to comment on a timetable.
托尼克斯（Tonix）和塔尔苏斯（Tarsus）正在研发防护方案，供人们在从事可能增加暴露风险的活动（如徒步旅行）前使用，或供居住在蜱虫密集地区（如康涅狄格州莱姆市——该病的首次发现地）的人群采用。
Tonix and Tarsus are working on protections for people to employ before embarking on activities that increase exposure, such as hiking, or for those who live in tick-dense areas, like Lyme, Connecticut, where the disease was first identified.
据该公司称，Tonix的单克隆抗体注射剂已完成早期试验，其两剂方案的保护效果可能至少持续六个月。该疗法旨在将抗体送入血液，以杀死正在吸血的蜱虫体内的莱姆病致病菌。下一项临床试验预计将于2027年初开始。
For the Tonix monoclonal antibody shot, which has finished an early-stage trial, a two-dose regimenmay work for at least six months, according to the company. It’s designed to send antibodies into the bloodstream to kill Lyme-causing bacteria inside a feeding tick. The next clinical trial is expected to begin in early 2027.
Tonix的首席执行官Seth Lederman表示：“因为我们并不依赖身体自身的免疫反应来产生免疫应答，而是直接提供抗体，因此我们认为，与疫苗相比，我们或许有更大的成功机会——至少同样有希望。”
“Because we’re not counting on the body’s immune response to make an immune response, we’re just providing it, we think we have a better chance than vaccines — or at least as good a chance,” said Seth Lederman, Tonix’s chief executive officer.
Tarsus的口服药片则专门用于在蜱虫附着于人体后、尚未造成危害之前将其靶向消灭。该药物采用了一种在宠物身上已显效的分子lotilaner。
Tarsus’s pill is built to target and kill ticks after they’ve landed but before they have time to do harm. It deploys a version of the molecule lotilaner that works in pets.
Tarsus的首席执行官Bobby Azamian表示：“我们发现这类药物已被用于预防动物感染莱姆病。因此我们想，为何不尝试在人体上应用呢？”Lotilaner是Elanco Animal Health Inc.公司Credelio系列跳蚤和蜱虫药物的有效成分，该系列药物已获美国食品药品监督管理局（FDA）批准用于犬类。Tarsus与Elanco签订了许可协议，将lotilaner开发为人类药物。该公司已于4月启动二期临床试验，并预计于2027年上半年获得结果。
“We saw that that class of medicines had been used to prevent Lyme in animals,” said Tarsus CEO Bobby Azamian. “So we thought, why not do this in humans?”Lotilaner is the active ingredient in Elanco Animal Health Inc.’s Credelio line of flea-and-tick drugs, approved by FDA for use on dogs. Tarsus has a license agreement with Elanco to develop lotilaner as a medicine for people. The company began a phase-two trial in April and expects results in the first half of 2027.
由黑腿蜱传播的莱姆病是美国报告最多的媒介传播疾病。该病可能难以诊断，而且部分人在接受抗生素治疗后仍会长期遭受关节炎和慢性疲劳等健康问题。
Lyme, carried by blacklegged ticks, is the most commonly reported vector-borne disease in the US. It can be difficult to diagnose. And some people suffer long-term health problems, like arthritis and chronic fatigue, even after antibiotic treatment.
黑腿蜱（又称鹿蜱）还可能传播其他病原体，包括巴贝斯体病、无形体病和Powassan病毒。纽约州达奇斯县的一项研究发现，约10%的蜱虫携带两种或多种病原体，其中莱姆病与巴贝斯体病的联合感染病例正在增加。
Blacklegged ticks, also called deer ticks, can transmit other pathogens, including babesiosis, anaplasmosis and the Powassan virus. A study in New York’s Dutchess County found roughly 10% of ticks carried two or more pathogens, with Lyme and babesiosis coinfections increasing.
“尤其值得注意的是，这种双重感染并不可取，”该研究的首席作者、凯里生态系统研究所的疾病生态学家香农·拉多（Shannon LaDeau）表示。“因为如果一个人同时感染了两种病原体，它们对同一种药物或疗法产生耐药性的可能性就会越来越高。”巴贝斯病的治疗方法尚未跟上蜱虫传播范围不断扩大的步伐。60 Degrees Pharmaceuticals Inc. 正在测试抗疟药物塔费诺喹（tafenoquine）的有效性。
“The coinfection in particular is undesirable,” said Shannon LaDeau, a disease ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies and the study’s lead author. “Because if you’re infected by two, it’s increasingly probable that they’re not going to respond to the same medication or treatment.”Treatments for babesiosis haven’t kept pace with ticks’ growing reach. 60 Degrees Pharmaceuticals Inc. is testing the effectiveness of the malaria drug tafenoquine.
“我们面对的是巴贝斯病，这种疾病类似于疟疾，影响了美国东海岸各地的民众，但我们至今仍采用的治疗标准却还停留在20世纪30年代的水平，”60 Degrees 的首席执行官杰弗里·道（Geoffrey Dow）说道。
“Here we have a disease, babesiosis, that’s like malaria, that affects Americans all up and down the East Coast, and we’re still treating them with a standard of care that’s like the 1930s,” said Geoffrey Dow, 60 Degrees’ CEO.
助长黑腿蜱虫传播的环境条件几乎没有缓解的迹象。更温暖的冬季有助于蜱虫及其宿主繁衍生息，而郊区开发和鹿群数量的回升，则创造了更多与人类接触的机会。
The conditions that have fueled the spread of blacklegged ticks show little signs of easing. Warmer winters have helped them and their hosts thrive, while suburban development and rebounding deer numbers have created more spaces for interactions with humans.
“蜱虫的数量更多了，而且过去没有风险的人群现在也面临风险，因为蜱虫已经进入了他们的社区，”罗德岛大学公共卫生昆虫学教授托马斯·马瑟（Thomas Mather）表示。
“Tick populations are higher and more people that didn’t used to be at risk are at risk now, because the ticks are in their neighborhoods,” said Thomas Mather, a professor of public health entomology at the University of Rhode Island.