The current collaboration will focus on the development of a novel, safe & effective vaccine for the prevention of dengue.
Sun Pharma will fund and support further development of the vaccine candidate that targets all four serotypes (variations) of the dengue virus as well as existing ICGEB know-how and patents.
The company will get exclusive rights and licenses from ICGEB for the vaccine’s development and commercialization.
In exchange, ICGEB will receive pre-defined royalty and milestone payments.
The parties will set up a joint development committee to provide oversight to the dengue vaccine development program.
Sun Pharma executive vice president and head, global business development Kirti Ganorkar said: “Our new collaboration with ICGEB is part of our broader commitment for developing new an improved vaccines and drugs against flaviviruses that are of significant health importance in India and the rest of the world.”
ICGEB said it carried out pre-clinical trials in the last seven years and developed the existing know-how and patents for the dengue vaccine candidate.
ICGEB director Dr Salunke “Our pre-clinical data is very encouraging and this could be an ideal dengue vaccine candidate for all target populations.”
Sun Pharma will explore global commercialization opportunities for the vaccine across India, emerging markets, Western Europe, Japan and the US.
Image: Sun Pharma and ICGEB announce a new exclusive collaboration to develop novel dengue vaccine for India and global markets. Photo: courtesy of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.