The ICGEB and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries announced their new collaboration for development of a dengue vaccine, targeted against all the four serotypes of Dengue virus that cause disease in humans. ICGEB has developed a tailored recombinant virus-like-particle (VLP) based tetravalent dengue vaccine, containing host-receptor binding domain of envelope protein of all the four DENV serotypes.
ICGEB has conducted pre-clinical studies over the past seven years and developed the existing Know-How and Patents for this dengue vaccine candidate. This is the second collaboration between Sun Pharma and ICGEB focusing on dengue. The first one announced in May 2016 was related to the development of a botanical drug for treatment of Dengue. The current collaboration is focussed on developing a novel, safe and effective vaccine for the prevention of dengue.
Dr. Salunke, Director, ICGEB New Delhi stated that despite recent approval of a dengue vaccine and several candidates being at advance stage of clinical trials, the development of a safe, affordable and efficacious dengue vaccine still faces major challenges. He further stated "I am pleased that the Dengue Vaccine Development program led by Dr. Navin Khanna at ICGEB is now proceeding to clinical development phase with Sun Pharma. The initial support from DBT and subsequent funding from Wellcome Trust has enabled ICGEB to bring this vaccine candidate at the stage it is today. We acknowledge the continued support of DBT and Wellcome Trust for these efforts at ICGEB. Our pre-clinical data is very encouraging and this could be an ideal dengue vaccine candidate for all target populations."
Commenting on the new collaboration signed with ICGEB, Mr. Kirti Ganorkar, Executive VP & Head, Global Business Development, Sun Pharma, said, “Our new collaboration with ICGEB for developing an affordable dengue vaccine is part of our broader commitment for developing new and improved vaccines and drugs against flaviviruses that are of significant health importance to India and rest of the world. Our decision to partner with ICGEB on dengue vaccine program followed extensive due diligence and expert consultations on existing dengue vaccine programs globally.”
According to the agreement signed today, Sun Pharma will fund and support further development of the vaccine candidate and existing ICGEB Know-How and Patents. ICGEB will grant Sun Pharma exclusive rights and licenses for development and commercialisation of this vaccine globally. ICGEB will receive pre-defined royalty & milestone payments. A joint development committee, comprising members of both the organisations, will be established to provide oversight to the dengue vaccine development program.
