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Under its existing Memorandum of Understanding, Inviragen and the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) announced a collaboration to assess the total health burden of dengue cases in Colombia and Thailand. The Mahidol University Department of Tropical Pediatrics in Thailand and PECET (Programa de Estudio y Control de Enfermedades Tropicales) at Universidad de Antioquia in Medellin, Colombia will manage the studies, which aim to detail the burden of dengue disease from epidemiological, economic, behavioral and market-demand perspectives.

The studies will follow thousands of children and adults in two distinct dengue endemic environments: in the Bang Phae district in Ratchaburi province, Thailand and the Santa Cruz Comuna in Medellin, Colombia. The purpose is to determine the incidence and epidemiology of dengue infection, the clinical profile of dengue, the utilization of healthcare services, the cost of illness and the potential willingness to pay for a preventative vaccine.

“The data from these studies will help Inviragen in two ways,” commented Dr. Dan Stinchcomb, CEO at Inviragen. “First, by following thousands of children and adults, we will gain information regarding the incidence of dengue in multiple age groups that is critical for the design of pivotal vaccine efficacy studies. Second, the data collected will help Inviragen and public health officials better understand the health and economic benefit of utilizing a protective dengue vaccine.”

“This further collaboration between Inviragen and IVI highlights our shared goal of advancing the development and introduction of a safe, effective and affordable dengue vaccine,” said Dr. Luiz da Silva, director of the Dengue Vaccine Initiative (DVI) at the IVI. “Inviragen’s tetravalent DENVax vaccine is the second dengue vaccine to enter into advanced Phase 2 clinical trials and holds tremendous promise to alleviate the health and economic burden of dengue.”

Dengue is the most common mosquito-borne viral disease, with more than 2.5 billion people at risk for the disease globally, resulting in an estimated 21,000 deaths per year. Dengue symptoms can range from mild, flu-like symptoms to severe circulatory failure, coma and death. In 2011, IVI announced the launch of the DVI, in collaboration with the Sabin Vaccine Institute, the Johns Hopkins University and the World Health Organization. DVI is working to lay the groundwork for dengue vaccine introduction in endemic areas so that once licensed, vaccines to prevent dengue will be swiftly introduced by countries most in need.

About International Vaccine Institute

The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) is a non-profit international organization devoted exclusively to developing and introducing new and improved vaccines for the world’s poorest people, especially children in developing countries. The IVI conducts research in more than 30 countries in Asia, Africa, and Central and South America on vaccines against diarrheal infections, bacterial meningitis and pneumonia, Japanese encephalitis and dengue fever, and develops new and improved vaccines, delivery routes and adjuvants at its headquarters in Seoul, Korea.

About Inviragen, Inc.

Inviragen is focused on developing vaccines to protect against infectious diseases worldwide. Inviragen’s vaccine to protect against dengue fever is in Phase 2 clinical testing. A vaccine designed to protect children from hand, foot and mouth disease has completed Phase 1 clinical testing. Vaccines to protect against chikungunya and Japanese encephalitis, which affect millions of individuals in Asia, are in development. Vaccines in preclinical research stages include a second generation human papilloma virus vaccine, vaccines to protect against new forms of influenza and a combination plague/smallpox vaccine for biodefense. Founded in 2005 with offices in Colorado, Wisconsin and Singapore, Inviragen’s investors include Charter Life Sciences (Palo Alto, CA), Venture Investors (Madison, WI), Bio*One Capital Pte. Ltd. (Singapore) and Phillip Private Equity (Singapore). See www.inviragen.com for more details.

*Editor’s note: A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is a document detailing scope and terms of an agreement between two or more parties. It is not generally intended to create a legal commitment between the parties but rather to set out the working principles of a relationship based on common goals.