Qdenga Dengue Vaccine: How It Works and When India May Get It
Qdenga is a two-dose dengue vaccine designed to protect against all four dengue virus serotypes and could become available in India after regulatory approvals.
India is expected to get access to Qdenga, Takeda Pharmaceutical’s dengue vaccine, with the vaccine’s Indian rollout subject to regulatory and market authorisations. Qdenga is a live-attenuated tetravalent vaccine designed to provide protection against all four dengue virus serotypes. WHO currently recommends a two-dose schedule, with the injections given three months apart.
Qdenga uses a weakened dengue virus serotype 2 as its genetic backbone and incorporates components designed to generate an immune response against all four serotypes. Unlike some dengue vaccination approaches, it can be used without requiring pre-vaccination dengue testing under its approved indications.
Clinical trial data have shown protection against dengue infection and hospitalisation. In the pivotal trial, Qdenga demonstrated 80.2% efficacy against virologically confirmed dengue during the specified follow-up period and 90.4% efficacy against dengue-related hospitalisation at 18 months after the second dose.
Longer-term data have also been reported by Takeda. After 4.5 years, two doses showed 61.2% efficacy against virologically confirmed dengue and 84.1% efficacy against dengue-related hospitalisation.
The vaccine is not a replacement for mosquito-control measures. WHO continues to recommend preventing mosquito bites and reducing breeding sites as key ways to limit dengue transmission.
Takeda has also partnered with India-based Biological E to expand manufacturing capacity for Qdenga, with the partnership aimed at increasing global supply.
