Mr Olivier Charmeil, president & CEO, Sanofi Pasteur
A dengue vaccine is said to represent a major advance for the control of the disease and could be an important tool for reaching the WHO's goal of reducing dengue mortality by at least 50 percent, and morbidity by at least 25 percent by 2020.
As an advancement towards this goal, Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi announced that the final landmark phase III efficacy study of its dengue vaccine candidate in Latin America successfully achieved its primary clinical endpoint.
The results also showed in the study population an efficacy against dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF), the severe form of dengue1, which is consistent with the results released from Sanofi's phase III dengue study in Asia.
"For the first time ever, after 20 years of research and industrial commitment, dengue is set to become a vaccine preventable disease," said Mr Olivier Charmeil, president and CEO, Sanofi Pasteur. "The data generated from our comprehensive research and clinical program involving 40,000 children, adolescents and adults from 15 countries, will be submitted to the health authorities in countries where dengue is a public health priority."
Lastly, the results suggest better protection in case of prior exposure to dengue.
