Takeda on track for dengue vaccine nods in 2017-18

Sanofi's ($SNY) dengue vaccine isn't slated to hit the market until late next year, pending approval, but it already has some competition on the horizon. Takeda has its eye on nods in the U.S. and Europe for its own candidate by the 2017-18 fiscal year, it says.

The company plans to begin the final phase of clinical trials for the jab--acquired in last year's Inviragen buyout--in fiscal 2015, Japanese newspaper Nikkei reports. Those studies will follow a Phase I trial, in which the vaccine produced antibodies in 76% of subjects, and Phase II trials that have been underway since 2011 in Colombia, Thailand, Singapore and elsewhere.

While the world currently lacks a vaccine to protect against the deadly mosquito-borne malady, Sanofi has said it plans to file for approval as soon as next year's first quarter, with hopes of a rollout by 2015's Q4. The pharma giant recently released positive data from its second of two large-scale Phase III studies, which saw its vaccine cut down disease cases by 60.8% and reduced the risk of dengue-related hospitalization by 80.3%.

GlobalData analyst Christopher Pace

But as research and consulting firm GlobalData noted in a report earlier this year, there's room for more than one dengue contender. It expects the dengue vaccine market to swell by $330 million across 5 major markets--Brazil, India, Mexico, Singapore and Thailand--between 2015 and 2020.

And if Takeda's vaccine boasts a more convenient dosing schedule and competitive pricing strategy, it could be right behind Sanofi's in the revenue department--and leading the way in terms of market share--by 2020, GD analyst Christopher Pace recently told FierceVaccines. He expects Takeda's contender to capture 37% of the market compared with Sanofi's 42%, pulling in 2020 sales of $148 million to the French drugmaker's $166 million.

- get more from Nikkei

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