India could have a vaccine for the dreaded dengue as early as 2019-end, according to drug maker Panacea Biotec, which has secured permission to conduct clinical trials for the vaccine in India. “As dengue is a big challenge for India and a vaccine direly required, we have given a go-ahead for trials for vaccine by TDB and Panacea Biotec,” said GN Singh, DCGI. Panacea Biotec, in collaboration with National Institutes of Health (NIH), US, has developed the advanced dengue vaccine with proven safety in pre-clinical studies. “An efficient dengue vaccine must provide a balanced immune response against all four serotypes in all age groups, ideally in a single-dose regimen. In 2016, the total number of dengue cases across India was 129,166 and in 2015 the recorded number was 99,913.

Source: Hindustan Times November 25, 2017 01:52 UTC