A collaborative research project between a government institute and a non-profit is aiming to develop a safe, affordable and effective treatment for dengue fever within five years, according to people familiar with the development.
The Transitional Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), an autonomous institute of the department of biotechnology in the ministry of science and technology, is working with the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) India Foundation to develop the new treatment.
“There are no specific antiviral drugs to treat dengue infection, and limited use of vaccines. Despite research and development to identify treatment for dengue fever, we have not yet achieved sufficient results,” Pramod Kumar Garg, executive director of THSTI, said in a statement. “It is important that we join our efforts to tackle the disease which affect millions of people.”
“The collaboration with DNDi India Foundation is an important step towards developing an effective treatment of dengue fever,” he said. “At the same time, it will coordinate efforts to help overcome knowledge gaps and expedite clinical research and regulatory approvals, including addressing unmet need of the dengue patients.”
The partnership will carry out preclinical studies of potential dengue treatments, test the efficacy of several re- purposed drug candidates and implement clinical trials of the most promising compounds to deliver an affordable and accessible treatment solution. The focus will be on combination treatment opportunities, as these have the most potential for increased efficacy at different stages of the disease – increasing the window of opportunity to avoid progression to severe dengue.
{{/usCountry}}The partnership will carry out preclinical studies of potential dengue treatments, test the efficacy of several re- purposed drug candidates and implement clinical trials of the most promising compounds to deliver an affordable and accessible treatment solution. The focus will be on combination treatment opportunities, as these have the most potential for increased efficacy at different stages of the disease – increasing the window of opportunity to avoid progression to severe dengue.
{{/usCountry}}Dengue, a climate sensitive, neglected tropical disease, is one of the top 10 threats to global public health worldwide, and India sees frequent outbreaks of the vector- borne disease, especially during the monsoon season. Symptoms can include fever, nausea, vomiting and body ache. If the infection progresses to severe dengue, affected people may experience shock, internal bleeding and organ failure. There is also a risk of death.
Yet, despite an estimated 390 million dengue infections each year in more than 100 countries, there is no specific treatment available. This not only causes suffering, but places significant pressure on already overburdened health systems.
At least 70% of the global dengue burden is in Asia, where severe dengue has become a leading cause of hospitalization and death among children and adults. India reports tens of thousands of dengue cases every year, with outbreaks every 2-3 years in different states of the country. In 2021, a total of 164,103 dengue cases was reported compared with 205,243 cases in 2019, government data show.
Globally, the number of dengue incident cases increased by 85% from 1990 to 2019. Rising temperatures linked to climate change are predicted to see faster viral amplification of the disease, as well as increased survival, reproduction and biting rate of the mosquitoes that carry it.
In certain parts of India, higher dengue infections are being reported well into the winters that health and environment experts attribute to climate change and alterations in rainfall patterns.
“As there is no specific treatment that can prevent progression of the infection to severe dengue, it is critical to find therapeutic solutions to this climate-sensitive disease that spreads at rapid pace,” said Kavita Singh, director, DNDi South Asia. “We hope this new partnership will accelerate the development of new dengue treatment that will be safe, accessible and easy to administer,”
Since its creation in 2003, DNDi has developed and registered nine new treatments for neglected diseases such as sleeping sickness, visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis, Chagas, and paediatric HIV. This is the first time its researchers will dedicate efforts to dengue, the organisation said in a statement.