Indian pharma firms invited to develop dengue vaccine

Pharmaceutical companies and vaccine makers in India who have developed potential vaccine candidates against dengue are in for some good times, with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) inviting domestic pharma companies to collaborate on the development of the country’s first vaccine for dengue.

As the country inches closer towards having a vaccine for dengue, a mosquito-borne viral disease, India's Department of Biotechnology (DBT) has also teamed up with the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative, India Foundation, to develop an effective dengue drug within the next five years.

The ICMR has asked pharmaceutical companies and vaccine manufacturers who have developed potential vaccine candidates against dengue and have successfully completed their Phase I and Phase II clinical trials to submit their expressions of Interest by March 11, 2022. The collaboration will be on a royalty basis for a fixed-term contract.

"As of now, there is no specific treatment for severe dengue. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop effective vaccines against it," the ICMR said in a statement.

Will provide technical expertise

The ICMR will provide technical expertise in terms of study planning, development and implementation of Phase III clinical trial protocol. While France and Mexico have developed dengue vaccines, they are not approved in India.

As for the DBT partnership, an effective dengue drug will be developed under the agreement. As per the scheme, government and non-government organisations will jointly research and develop an effective and cheap dengue medicine. A combination of two medicines in clinical trials is also on the anvil.

The World Health Organization identified dengue as one of top ten global health threats in 2019. It noted that Asia accounts for 70% of total dengue cases reported from 129 countries. According to the National Center for Vector-Borne Diseases Control data, India reported 1,23,106 dengue cases and 90 deaths in 2021 (till October).