Japan's Takeda partners with India's Biological E. to boost dengue vaccine production

[February 27, 2024]  BENGALURU (Reuters) - Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical will scale up production of its dengue vaccine Qdenga through a partnership with Indian vaccines maker Biological E., the companies said on Tuesday.

These doses will be available for governments in endemic countries by 2030 as part of their national immunization programs.

Biological E. will ramp up to a manufacturing capacity of 50 million doses a year, accelerating Takeda's efforts to produce 100 million doses per year within a decade, the companies said.

Takeda's vaccine is available for children and adults in countries like Indonesia, Thailand, Argentina and Brazil, but is not approved for use in India.

Brazil has bought 5.2 million doses of Qdenga, with an additional 1.32 million doses provided at no cost, as the country undertakes emergency measures and mass vaccination against the mosquito-borne disease.

A Takeda logo is seen in its research hub in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., November 26, 2018. Picture taken November 26, 2018. REUTERS/Julie Steenhuysen/File Photo

Since the beginning of 2023, the world has been facing an upsurge of dengue cases and deaths reported in endemic areas, with further spread to areas previously free of dengue, according to the World Health Organization.

It estimates more than five million dengue cases and over 5,000 associated deaths have been recorded across all six WHO regions.

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)

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