LYON, France, February 18 /PRNewswire/ --
- Global Clinical Study Program Across Dengue Endemic Regions in Latin America and Asia
Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of sanofi-aventis Group (EURONEXT : SAN and NYSE : SNY), announced today that its investigational tetravalent dengue vaccine is entering into a pediatric clinical study in Thailand to assess the efficacy of the vaccine in protecting children against dengue, the most widespread tropical disease after malaria. Sanofi Pasteur's tetravalent dengue vaccine candidate is the first to reach this stage of clinical development.
Sanofi Pasteur is collaborating with Mahidol University of Thailand, the Ministry of Public Health, and the Pediatric Dengue Vaccine Initiative (PDVI) to conduct this efficacy study in the province of Ratchaburi.
Large scale pediatric studies are instrumental for the development of a safe and efficacious dengue vaccine to protect against a disease that primarily affects children, said Dr. Pratap Singhasivanon, Dean of the Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University. We are happy to contribute to an important milestone with the actual start of an efficacy study in Ratchaburi.
The Sanofi Pasteur clinical study program follows guidelines from the Initiative for Vaccine Research (IVR) led by the World Health Organization (WHO), which fosters the global efforts towards dengue vaccine development.
WHO is committed to the availability of a dengue vaccine that will ultimately benefit children in endemic countries, said Dr. Joachim Hombach, Coordinator Implementation Research for IVR, WHO.
About Sanofi Pasteur dengue vaccine global clinical study program
Sanofi Pasteur started the development of a dengue vaccine in the 90's. Clinical studies with the most advanced tetravalent candidate vaccine started in the 2000's. In a study in the United States, immunization with three doses of Sanofi Pasteur's tetravalent dengue vaccine candidate generated a sero-neutralizing antibody response against all four serotypes of the virus responsible for dengue fever in 100 percent of adults who participated in the trial(1). The Sanofi Pasteur dengue vaccine research program includes ongoing clinical studies in Mexico, Peru, and The Philippines with adults and children.
About dengue fever
Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne disease caused by four types of dengue viruses (type 1 to 4). Overall, the disease is a potential threat for almost half the world's population. Of the estimated 230 million people infected annually, two million, mostly children, develop dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), a severe form of the disease(2). DHF is a leading cause of hospitalization in South-East Asia, placing tremendous pressure on strained medical resources.
Dengue fever occurs mostly in tropical and subtropical countries and is spreading to new parts of the globe each year. The WHO has warned that the Western Pacific Region may be heading for a major dengue outbreak(3). Outbreaks recently have been observed in Paraguay and the Middle East. In addition, dengue affects countries such as Australia (Queensland) and the United States (Puerto Rico, Texas-Mexico border, Hawaii and the US-affiliated Pacific Islands). A substantial number of people traveling to endemic regions are also infected each year.
About sanofi-aventis
Sanofi-aventis, a leading global pharmaceutical company, discovers, develops and distributes therapeutic solutions to improve the lives of everyone. Sanofi-aventis is listed in Paris (EURONEXT: SAN) and in New York (NYSE: SNY).
Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of sanofi-aventis Group, provided more than 1.6 billion doses of vaccine in 2008, making it possible to immunize more than 500 million people across the globe. A world leader in the vaccine industry, Sanofi Pasteur offers the broadest range of vaccines protecting against 20 infectious diseases. The company's heritage, to create vaccines that protect life, dates back more than a century. Sanofi Pasteur is the largest company entirely dedicated to vaccines. Every day, the company invests more than EUR 1 million in research and development. For more information, please visit: http://www.sanofipasteur.com
References:
1. Data generated by the WHO Flavivirus Laboratory Reference Center, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand, presented at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene's (ASTMH) 56th annual meeting held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
2. Pediatric Dengue Vaccine Initiative (PDVI), presentation Estimating the global burden of dengue at 2nd Int Conf on Dengue DHF, 15-17 Oct 08 , Phuket, Thailand
3. WHO alarmed about the spread of dengue, http://www.wpro.who.int/media_centre/press_releases/pr_23072007.htm
Forward Looking Statements
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Contacts : Global Media Relations, Pascal Barollier, T. +33(0)4-37-37-50-38, pascal.barollier@sanofipasteur.com; US Media Relations: Len Lavenda, T. +1-570-957-4446, len.lavenda@sanofipasteur.com
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