The Philippines became the first Asian country on Tuesday to approve the sale of the world's first-ever dengue vaccine.
Dengvaxia, manufactured by French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, secured its first regulatory approval in Mexico a fortnight ago and is currently being reviewed by around 20 countries in Asia and Latin America.
It is hoped the drug could eventually help prevent millions of deaths from dengue, the world's fastest-growing mosquito-borne disease.
The World Health Organisation says as many as 400 million people are infected worldwide every year, and two-thirds are in Asia. "It's a major step in the prevention of dengue and for public health," Olivier Charmeil, head of Sanofi's vaccines division, said in a statement.
Scientists have long been stumped by dengue, which has four separate strains, forcing researchers to find a drug able to fight all of them at once.
Clinical tests – carried out on 40,000 people from 15 countries – have found Dengvaxia can immunise two-thirds of people aged nine years and older, rising to 93 per cent for the more severe form of the disease, dengue haemorrhagic fever. It was also found to reduce the risk of hospitalisation by 80 per cent.
Dengue can trigger a crippling fever, along with muscle and joint pain. There is no known cure, and children are at particular risk. The deadliest form of the disease kills 22,000 people a year, the WHO says.
It was once considered a disease of the tropics, endemic in only nine countries, but globalisation, urbanisation, climate change and jet travel are helping it to move into more temperate zones. It is now endemic in more than 100 countries.
The WHO says cases have risen 30-fold over the last 50 years, with more than half the world's population potentially at risk. Several million doses of the vaccine are ready to ship, and Sanofi expects annual production to reach 100 million doses by 2017.
Sanofi's research and development work took 20 years, costing more than €1.5 billion (US$1.6 billion). But the vaccine could bring the company more than US$1 billion annually starting in 2018 or 2019, analysts said.
Other pharmaceutical companies are developing dengue vaccines, including US firm Merck, Japan's Takeda and Britain's GlaxoSmithKline, but Sanofi is ahead of the competition.
AFP
Wed Dec 23 2015
A 2011 file photo of employees working in Sanofi-Pasteur, the vaccine branch of French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-Aventis in Marcy-l'Etoile, outside Lyon. Sanofi's research and development work in developing the vaccine took 20 years. - AFP Photo
Raih RM31 juta sejak ditayangkan! Sheriff kini filem no. 1 di Malaysia
Berita gembira ini turut disokong oleh abang Syafiq, Syamsul Yusof yang turut bangga dengan kejayaan naskhah yang dihasilkan adiknya.
Letupan bom Sungai Golok: PDRM tingkat kawalan keselamatan sempadan Malaysia-Thailand
PDRM mempertingkatkan kawalan keselamatan di sempadan Malaysia-Thailand susulan insiden letupan bom dan bunyi tembakan di Sungai Golok.
Pemain ragbi meninggal dunia selepas perlawanan pasukan pilihan MB Kedah
Seorang bekas pemain Sukma Kedah meninggal dunia selepas menyertai perlawanan pertunjukan pasukan pilihan Menteri Besar Kedah pada Ahad.
OCC: Masih banyak usaha perlu dibuat dalam isu hak kanak-kanak
Masih banyak yang perlu dilakukan kerana Malaysia masih ketinggalan berbanding negara lain dalam menangani isu penderaan dan masalah sosial melibatkan kanak-kanak.
iPad Pro mungkin dijana dengan cip Apple M4 terbaharu, fokus ciri AI
Cip Apple M4 dijangka memfokuskan kepada keupayaan enjin neural yang disertakan bersama dengannya membolehkan ia menawarkan ciri AI yang lebih baik.
Lebih 840,000 permohonan untuk London Marathon 2025 pecah rekod dunia
Jumlah permohonan untuk menyertai larian TCS London Marathon tahun depan telah memecahkan rekod dunia.
WEF: Anwar jumpa 50 pemimpin industri & perniagaan, yakin pelabur bernilai tinggi pilih Malaysia
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim menzahirkan keyakinan lebih banyak pelabur bernilai tinggi akan memilih Malaysia sebagai destinasi pelaburan mengikut jejak langkah syarikat-syarikat gergasi seperti Tesla, AWS, Infineon dan Nvidia.
AWANI Ringkas: Ikut jejak syarikat gergasi lain
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
Bursa Malaysia dibuka tinggi seiring prestasi Wall Street
Bursa Malaysia dibuka rendah pada Isnin, mengambil petunjuk pasaran serantau dan kenaikan di Wall Street pada hari Jumaat.
Kementerian Perpaduan kaji keperluan pelan tindakan pendidikan & penghargaan Rukun Negara
Kementerian Perpaduan Negara melalui Jabatan Perpaduan dan Integrasi Nasional akan mengkaji keperluan untuk melancarkan Pelan Tindakan Pendidikan & Penghargaan Rukun Negara sejajar dengan Dasar Perpaduan Negara 2021-2030.
Awas! Empat krisis dunia ini dikhuatiri jadi lebih buruk akibat COVID-19
Selain menyebabkan kematian dan kerugian besar kepada ekonomi, ia juga boleh menyebabkan krisis berkaitan kemanusiaan menjadi bertambah buruk.
Climate change in Malaysia and what it means for us
The worlds climate is changing for the worse, and humans are responsible for that. Lets dive into a touch of science to make sense of this.
Demam denggi menurun kepada 1,300 kes minggu lepas - Subramaniam
Penurunan sebanyak 1,200 kes itu berikutan pelbagai usaha Kementerian Kesihatan dalam mengawal pembiakan nyamuk Aedes terutama di kawasan berisiko.
CukupSetakatSamson: Isteri Allahyarham pesan agar masyarakat tidak leka
Zamila Razeman, 27, turut mengingatkan masyarakat supaya tidak mengambil mudah kerana demam panas melampau termasuk dalam simptom denggi yang boleh membawa maut.