Hello again!
Yesterday, we had the opportunity to learn about the dengue fever vaccine from one of it's creators and it was such a fascinating experience! In pharmacy school, we often learn about vaccines and their schedules but we rarely focus on their history and development, so this opportunity was completely new and exciting for me. Dr. Stuee Yoksan from the Center for Vaccine Development from Mahidol University was the speaker for this particular topic and he was extremely enthusiastic, which made the conversation that much more riveting.
People have been aware of dengue fever for about 70 years and because it is transmitted by mosquitoes, it is almost impossible to erradicate. Dengue fever has the largest disease burden in South East Asia specifically in countries such as India, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and more. Additionally, there are 4 different viruses associated with dengue fever, which makes it difficult to track and develop a vaccine for. It also presents asymptomatically in about 80% of patients, which makes it easier to spread and even more difficult to find naive patients to begin trials for vaccine development.
In terms of strategies for developing the vaccine, they had the opportunity to create one with genetic engineering technology, which Sanofi was already working on, or a classical live attenuated version, which is what they decided on. They also wanted to develop one with tetravalent immunity, in other words one that would target all four viruses. They actually started development using primary dog kidney, which is what was used in the US for the measles and rubella vaccines, and eventually transitioned to monkey kidneys. They certainly had many bumps along the way, but felt proud of their product in the end. It is currently available for patients 9 years of age and older as a three dose series vaccine in 13 countries including the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, and Cambodia. It costs roughly 300 US dollars to receive the vaccine in Thailand.
This vaccine development is definitely a step in the right direction for countries endemic to dengue fever, but there is certainly room for improvement moving forward. Additionally, because zika and dengue fever viruses are closely related, this discovery could potentially lead to the development of a zika vaccine. This makes me optimistic for the future of vaccine development and all of the countless possibilities to come!
Thanks for reading!
Maddie Pryor
Side note: Below you will see some pictures from their lab as they continue development for the vaccine.
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