Sanofi Pasteur's Dengue vaccine first to enter Ph III clinical trial

French drug major Sanofi-Aventis’ (Euronext: SAN) vaccine unit, Sanofi-Pasteur, says that its Dengue vaccine is in final stage of clinical development. Claiming that its vaccine is the world's most clinically advanced Dengue vaccine candidate, it said that it has now entered its first Phase III clinical study in Australia and is the first to reach this stage of development.

This study is part of a global Phase III clinical study program aimed at advancing the development of a novel vaccine for the prevention of dengue disease in children and adults. Currently, there is no specific treatment available for Dengue fever, which is a threat to nearly three billion people and a public health priority in many countries of Latin America and Asia where epidemics occur.

"To address the global health challenge represented by Dengue fever, we are conducting an unprecedented Dengue vaccine research and development program as well as a scale up of the vaccine production," said Wayne Pisano, president and chief executive of Sanofi Pasteur. "We are now entering the final laps of a long run that Sanofi Pasteur started almost 20 years ago. If successful, we are committed to introducing the vaccine in countries where Dengue is of highest public health priority," he added.