Sanofi Reports Progress Toward First Dengue Vaccine

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi, reports that results of an efficacy study is a step closer to making dengue the next vaccine-preventable disease.

Sanofi points to The Lancet’s published results showing the overall efficacy of the drug maker’s vaccine against symptomatic dengue in 56.5% in children aged 2 to 14 years old after a three-dose vaccination schedule. Results also show an 88·5% reduction of dengue haemorrhagic fever, the severe form of dengue. To date, 27,000 children, adolescents and adults have been vaccinated with three doses of the candidate dengue vaccine throughout the clinical studies.

Dengue is a threat to nearly half the world’s population; it is a particularly pressing health priority in many countries in Asia and Latin America. Each year, an estimated 500,000 people with severe dengue require hospitalization. According to the Sanofi study, one in twenty children in the control group suffered from dengue each year.