India on course to develop indigenous dengue vaccine

City-based ICMR at forefront of the trials; Serum too preparing to roll out its own vaccine after trial run

- Vicky Pathare

The Phase 3 clinical trial for India’s first dengue vaccine has enrolled over 7,248 participants since its launch in August 2024, marking a major milestone in the development of an indigenous dengue vaccine.

The trial, led by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in collaboration with Panacea Biotec, is testing DengiAll, a tetravalent vaccine designed to protect against all four known dengue virus serotypes.

The vaccine strain (TV003/TV005), originally developed by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), has shown promising results in global studies. The NIH later sub-licensed the technology to several firms globally including Indian companies like Panacea Biotec and Indian Immunologicals.

Among the Indian licensees, Panacea Biotec is the most advanced, having completed Phase 1 and 2 trials in 2018-19. The company has since developed a full vaccine formulation and holds a process patent.