Takeda and India’s vaccine maker Biological E have announced a partnership to accelerate access to QDENGA — Takeda’s (Dengue Tetravalent Vaccine [Live, Attenuated]) (TAK-003) multi-dose vials.

These doses will be made available for procurement by governments in endemic countries by 2030, to support national immunisation programmes, a global announcement by the two companies said. TAK-003 is not approved for use in India

BE will ramp up manufacturing capacity to 50 million doses a year, aiding Takeda’s efforts to manufacture 100 million doses a year within the decade. The partnership will build upon existing manufacturing capacity at Takeda’s facility in Singen, Germany, and Takeda’s long-term partnership with IDT Biologika GmbH.

“Takeda’s long-term goal for our dengue programme has been to make QDENGA broadly available to those at risk who may benefit from immunisation. Within the last year, we’ve successfully launched in private markets, are now launching in some public programmes, and working with partners to support a broader public health impact,” said Gary Dubin, President of the Global Vaccine Business Unit at Takeda. “We are proud to announce a strategic manufacturing partnership with Biological E Limited, which has deep expertise in vaccine manufacturing and longstanding support of public health programmes around the world. Together, we will help combat dengue on a global scale by significantly increasing manufacturing capacity for multi-dose vials of QDENGA to drive sustainable access to the vaccine in more endemic countries.”

Dengue fever is among the most common mosquito-borne viral diseases worldwide, with global incidence rates increasing 30-fold over the last 50 years due to urbanisation, travel and climate change. It is currently endemic in more than 100 countries and causes an estimated 390 million infections each year.

QDENGA is available for children and adults in the private market in countries in Europe, Indonesia and Thailand, and in private and some public programmes in Argentina and Brazil.