BRIEF—MHRA authorizes new dengue vaccine from Takeda

The British medicines regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), has granted marketing authorization for Takeda’s dengue vaccine Qdenga.

Approved in Europe in late 2022 and submitted for Priority Review in the USA around the same time, Takeda hopes to address an endemic disease with a high level of unmet medical need.

Takeda will look to improve on an earlier dengue vaccine program, from French vaccines major Sanofi, which  had a mixed impact due to safety data showing the jab could be harmful to those not previously infected with the disease.

Prevalent in more than 125 countries, the dengue virus is estimated to be around 30 times more widespread than it was half a century ago.