This collaboration opens up opportunities to bring dengue fever vaccines to Vietnam sooner.

On September 28th, in Ho Chi Minh City, a signing ceremony for a strategic cooperation memorandum between the VNVC Vaccination System and Takeda Pharmaceuticals (Asia Pacific) Co., Ltd., abbreviated as Takeda, a subsidiary of the Takeda Group (Japan), took place with the participation and witness of leaders from the Ministry of Health , Takeda, and VNVC.

Both sides agreed to implement several important activities, affirming a sustainable development strategy with the goal of training and scientific research… to promote awareness and improve professional knowledge for healthcare staff on dengue fever prevention measures, including dengue fever vaccination.

Cooperation opens up opportunities to bring dengue fever vaccine to Vietnam soon (Figure 1) — Representatives from Takeda Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. and VNVC Vaccination System signed a memorandum of understanding for strategic cooperation on September 28th in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Moc Thao

At the signing ceremony, Dr. Nguyen Ngo Quang, Deputy Director of the Department of Science, Technology and Training (Ministry of Health), highly appreciated the cooperation between Takeda and VNVC - Vietnam's leading complete vaccination system. Dr. Quang expressed his hope that the cooperation between Takeda and VNVC will bring practical benefits to the people in the near future.

"We hope that the people of Vietnam will have access to the dengue fever vaccine as soon as possible," Mr. Quang said.

Associate Professor Tran Dac Phu, former Director of the Department of Preventive Medicine and Senior Advisor to the Vietnam Center for Emergency Response to Public Health Events, shared that he has witnessed many outbreaks and deaths caused by dengue fever and understands the role of vaccines in preventing many infectious diseases.

Mr. Phu highly appreciated VNVC's superior vaccination model and expressed his delight at VNVC's growth, reputation, and quality, with over 130 vaccination centers nationwide, making it easier for people to access new vaccines circulating worldwide.

He hopes that Vietnam will soon have a dengue fever vaccine, which will help reduce the number of cases and deaths caused by the disease, contributing to the sustainable eradication of this epidemic in Vietnam.

"I hope that today's signing ceremony between VNVC and Takeda will be successful and that we can soon bring dengue fever vaccines to Vietnam. And of course, the vaccines must meet the standards and requirements for effectiveness and safety to be brought into Vietnam," Mr. Phu said.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Ms. Katharina Geppert, Chief Representative of Takeda Vietnam, shared: “We are delighted to cooperate with VNVC to bring Takeda’s high-quality preventive and healthcare solutions closer to the people of Vietnam. At Takeda, we highly value the strength of cooperation between healthcare partners in each country to jointly address public health challenges, including solutions in dengue fever prevention and control.”

Mr. Ngo Chi Dung, Chairman of the Board and General Director of VNVC Vaccination System, said that the event is a particularly important milestone. VNVC has fully prepared the best conditions to cooperate with Takeda Pharmaceutical Group in raising awareness about dengue fever. This cooperation event opens up prospects for applying advanced measures to prevent dengue fever, especially vaccines, in the future in Vietnam.

“In the coming time, VNVC strives to bring in as many high-quality vaccines as possible, equivalent to those in developed countries worldwide, for the Vietnamese people. At the same time, we will endeavor to develop a system of safe, high-quality vaccination centers at reasonable costs and offer more financial support solutions so that more people nationwide have the opportunity to access all vaccines,” Mr. Ngo Chi Dung emphasized.

Following the signing ceremony, Takeda, in collaboration with the Pasteur Institute of Ho Chi Minh City, organized a workshop titled "Orientations and Solutions to Improve the Effectiveness of Dengue Fever Prevention and Control in Vietnam." This was an important event within the series of activities held to commemorate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Japan.

According to the Department of Preventive Medicine, Vietnam is one of many countries currently recording a high number of dengue fever cases and deaths. Since the beginning of the year, the country has recorded over 87,000 dengue fever cases and 24 deaths. The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that in 2023 and 2024, climate change and the El Niño phenomenon may promote mosquito breeding, increasing the transmission of dengue fever and other mosquito-borne diseases.

Cooperation opens up opportunities to bring dengue fever vaccine to Vietnam soon (Figure 2) — The number of dengue fever cases is becoming increasingly complex, and people need to pay attention to preventive measures. Photo: freepik

Takeda's dengue fever vaccine, TAK-003 (registered trade name QDENGA), has been licensed for use in over 30 countries, including the European Union (EU), the United Kingdom, Argentina, and countries with dengue fever epidemiological situations similar to Vietnam, such as Indonesia, Brazil, and more recently, Thailand. TAK-003 currently does not have a marketing authorization in Vietnam.

Test results show that the vaccine can generate varying levels of immunity against all four circulating strains of the Dengue virus, helping to prevent the disease and reduce the likelihood of hospitalization for people with dengue fever.

According to the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the body that licenses vaccines in the EU, the QDENGA vaccine has been approved for use in people from the age of 4, regardless of whether they have previously been infected.

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