A vaccine for dengue

A vaccine for dengue will be ready in approximately a year’s time, stated Dr Cyrus Poonawalla, chairman and managing director of the Serum Institute of India (SII) at a press meet in Poona on August 30, 2023, as reported by biospectrumindia.com.

Phase I and II of trials for the dengue vaccine in India are soon to start, according to news reports.

Dr Cyrus (l) and Adar Poonawalla

SII chief executive officer Adar Poonawalla was quoted on adarpoonawalla.com that SII is developing a biological therapy to treat all four strains of dengue virus and that they would "soon apply to the ministry of science and technology for a fast-track approval to disseminate the drug in the country.” The website stated that the biological treatment would be an injection that would cost between Rs 5,000-10,000 per dose. "We are expecting the government to give a fast-track approval to the application. This is because dengue has become a public health crisis with numerous cases cropping up.”

Phase I of the vaccine has been successfully completed in Australia in 2022 where it was found to be "safe” and "highly immunogenic,” stated the Hindustan Times (HT) of November 27, noting that trials are to start in India soon. SII’s "Dengusiil” vaccine will bring the country "one step closer to generating its first indigenous dengue vaccine.”

Dr Rajeev Dhere, executive director of SII, told the newspaper that an application has been submitted to the Drugs Controller General of India for Phases I and II. The study "will be completed in a year.”

The virus strain for the vaccine has been developed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the USA. "After several clinical trials conducted on their own, NIH sub-licensed the technology to SII and other companies including Merck, USA; Panacea Biotec, India; Indian Immunologicals, India and others.”

Over the next three years, SII plans to start production of yellow fever and dengue shots for European and American travelers to countries where those diseases are endemic, Adar told The Hindu (October 5). "That would add higher-margin products to the company’s growing suite of immunizations which include a malaria shot that was approved by the World Health Organization this week.”