Mumbai, As India deals
with increasing number of dengue fever, pharma major Sanofi today said the
world’s first vaccine against the mosquito-borne viral disease may be available
by the second half of 2015.
Sanofi
Pasteur, the French drugmaker’s vaccine unit, will file for registration of its
vaccine candidate and subject to regulatory approval the world’s first dengue
vaccine could be available by the second half of 2015, the company said in a
statement. Results of the last stage of the clinical study showed that the
vaccine gives a 95.5 per cent protection against severe dengue and an 80.3 per
cent reduction in the risk of hospitalisation, it said. Dengue has been a
serious challenge to public health as it affects lakhs of people annually in
India, Sanofi said.
The company added that its
phase III efficacy clinical study programme for the dengue vaccine candidate
was conducted in over 31,000 participants across 10 endemic countries in Asia
and Latin America. “We plan to submit the vaccine for licences in 2015 in
endemic countries where dengue is a public health priority,” Sanofi Pasteur
President and CEO Olivier Charmeil said.
Country Head, Sanofi Pasteur,
Stephan Barth, said dengue is a serious health concern in India, causing a
significant but under-reported burden. “Over recent months we have seen a
worrying increase in cases in many parts of the country, putting a huge strain
on healthcare systems. India is part of Sanofi Pasteur’s global development
strategy for dengue vaccine.
“Results of CYD 15 are very
encouraging and in line with the results of the phase III study results in Asia
and the Phase II study results in India,” he said. Committed to dengue vaccine
research for more than 20 years, Sanofi Pasteur aims to make the tropical
ailment the next vaccine-preventable disease, Barth said. (Source- www.newsroompost.com)
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