Sanofi partners on dengue vaccine awareness
pharmafile | February 22, 2011 | News story | Medical Communications, Research and Development | Dengue Vaccine Institute, Dengue fever, International Vaccine Institute, Sanofi Pasteur, Sanofi-Aventis, disease awareness, vaccines
Sanofi-Aventis has teamed up with the International Vaccine Institute to raise awareness about dengue fever and its vaccine for the disease.
There is no specific treatment for the disease except for general pain relief, but Sanofi’s vaccines arm Sanofi Pasteur is working on the most advanced vaccine.
This started its first phase III trial in Australia November last year – making it the only dengue vaccine to date to reach this clinical milestone.
Further trials in adults and children are ongoing in Mexico, Colombia, Honduras, Puerto Rico, Peru, the Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, Australia, and Thailand.
Sanofi said the partnership will be working to put dengue vaccination “higher on the global health agenda”.
VP of Sanofi-Aventis vaccines Olivier Charmeil said: “The fight against dengue requires a strong global commitment from all public health partners. The first dengue vaccine is now in the final stages of development.
“The International Vaccine Institute will be a key player in facilitating discussions among policy makers, with the objective of ensuring that once licensed the vaccine will be made available to those populations that need it most in a timely manner.”
Dr Ragnar Norrby, chairman of the board of trustees at International Vaccine Institute (IVI), said: “Each year, an estimated two million people with dengue hemorrhagic fever require hospitalisation representing a significant burden on the fragile healthcare systems of developing and endemic nations.
“With a dengue vaccine on the short term horizon, this collaboration will focus on accelerating its adoption and introduction and on making it accessible to those at highest risk of dengue.”
The partnership will also aim at supporting the recently launched Dengue Vaccine Institute (DVI), a collaboration between the IVI, the Sabin Vaccine Institute, Johns Hopkins University and the World Health Organization that was launched earlier this month to support the development of vaccines to control dengue fever.
Dengue fever is caused by arboviruses and is usually transmitted to humans by mosquito bites. It mainly occurs in the tropics and sub-tropics and affects around 220 million annually.
Symptoms of dengue fever are similar to influenza but can prove extremely debilitating for the patient.
A more severe form, dengue haemorrhagic fever, usually effects children and is characterised by a breakdown of the body’s ability to clot leading to internal bleeding and sometimes death.
Ben Adams
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