Vaccine for dengue may be available commercially by mid-2026 

Vaccine for dengue could be available commercially as early as mid-2026. Indian Immunologicals Limited has finished the first phase of clinical trials to determine the safety of the vaccine, the company’s Managing Director K. Anand Kumar said. The second and third phases of trials to test the vaccine’s efficacy are expected to begin shortly. IIL is a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Dairy Development Board, established in 1982.

“We have completed phase 1 trial, [which is] to determine safety. It was very successful. There have been no adverse reports. We will start phase 2 and 3 trials soon,” Dr. Kumar said in an interaction with The Hindu in Chennai over the past weekend. The findings of the first phase have already been published in peer-reviewed journals, he said. “We should have completed the trial in December, but it was delayed by a few months. We wanted to release it in early 2026, but now, may be by mid-2026, we will be ready to release the vaccines,” he added. 

“For dengue, we got the virus strains from the National Institute of Virology. May be by mid-2026 we will be ready to release the vaccines. We will release the results of the clinical trials,” he explained of the protocol requirements for any such scientific work.  

The company is also developing a vaccine for the Zika virus and for the Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD). The virus, first identified in 1957 in Karnataka’s forests, is reported to have infected 400 to 500 people annually since then. Transmission in humans occurs through an infected tick’s bites or due to contact with an infected animal, especially a sick or dead monkey. The disease is as yet limited to Karnataka and its border areas. “The ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) has agreed in principle to help undertake, bear all the cost for clinical trials for the Zika vaccine and we are discussing co-developing the vaccine for KFD along with the Council,” Dr. Kumar said.

In January this year, the company launched the Hepatitis A vaccine, Havisure. The product has taken off well, Mr. Kumar said. While the company offered the vaccine in vials, there is a demand for prefilled syringes and the process is underway to meet the demand, Dr. Kumar said.