The international dengue study by Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical will test its experimental vaccine on 20,100 children and adolescents in eight countries between Latin America and Asia, two region where the mosquito-borne disease is endemic. 

It has been reported that Dengue virus is becoming much more prevalent and widespread, killing about 20,000 people per year and infecting hundreds of millions

Sanofi already has a dengue vaccine on the market, called Dengvaxia, but the French drugmaker’s product is not perfect and did not protect equally against the four different serotypes of dengue in clinical tests.

As a result, academic researchers and rival manufacturers are continuing to work towards better vaccines. Takeda’s shot produced promising results against four dengue strains in earlier smaller studies.

Initial results are expected in 2018.

Source: Reuters