Takeda moves forward with Dengue vaccine development

Takeda Pharmaceutical (TYO: 4502) says that it has vaccinated the first subject in the Tetravalent Immunization against Dengue Efficacy Study (TIDES), a Phase III double-blind, randomized and placebo-controlled trial of its live-attenuated tetravalent dengue vaccine candidate (TAK-003).

TAK-003 will compete with French pharma major Sanofi’s (Euronext: SAN) Dengvaxia, which began its roll-out in South America, via the Brazilian state of Parana last month, and the company’s first public dengue vaccination program in The Philippines in April this year. Analysts have estimated that the global dengue vaccination market could reach a value of $1 billion a year.

This TAK-003 program is also confirmation of Takeda’s ambitions in the field of vaccines development, and adds to last week’s announcement of a contract from the USA’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to develop a vaccine to support the Zika response in the USA and affected regions around the world, worth a potential $312 million to Japan’s largest drugmaker.