New Delhi: The Qdenga dengue vaccine, manufactured by Japanese company Takeda, has received market approval from the Drug Controller General of India, becoming the first-ever dengue vaccine to be sold in India.
The vaccine is tetravalent, which means it acts against all four strains of dengue, and is administered through two doses.
Takeda first launched the QDenga vaccine in 2022, and since then, it has been approved and sold in 43 countries. It is effective in preventing dengue among people aged four to 60 years.
“Dengue is a growing public health challenge, and India needs sustained, evidence-based prevention. The latest seven-year data for QDENGA show continued protection against dengue infection and hospitalisation,” stated Mahendra Nayak, Head of Intercontinental Markets, Takeda Biopharmaceuticals, in a press release.
The market approval for Takeda’s vaccine comes after rigorous clinical trials and testing, both globally and in India, to understand the efficacy of the vaccine. Qdenga is currently the only available vaccine in the world for dengue, a viral infection that is transmitted through the bite of the female Aedes aegypti mosquito.
According to a press release shared by Takeda Biopharmaceuticals India, their vaccine has undergone 19 different Phase I, II, and III trials with a total of 28,000 participants across the world.
In India, they conducted a Phase III trial between March 2024 and May 2025, with 480 participants, to determine the efficacy of the vaccine as well as the immune response generated in the Indian population.
Two doses of the Qdenga vaccine showed 90% efficacy against dengue-related hospitalisation 18 months after the last dose was administered, and 84% efficacy 4.5 years after. The vaccine also showed 80.2% efficacy against symptomatic, laboratory-confirmed dengue one year after the second dose.
Even as Qdenga becomes the first dengue vaccine to be sold in India, another vaccine called DengiAll by an Indian company Panacea Biotech is currently under trials and will be sent for a market approval soon.
What is Qdenga?
Qdenga is a live-attenuated dengue vaccine, i.e. it is produced by using a weakened version of the original virus strain, which triggers an immune response in the body. Since dengue has four different strains – DEN1, DEN2, DEN3, and DEN4 — any dengue vaccine needs to ensure that it is effective against each of these strains.
Takeda’s vaccine is built on a DEN2 virus strain; however, it also has structural proteins from DEN1, DEN3, and DEN4, making it effective against all four strains of the virus. It has two doses, which are administered three months apart, and its efficacy does not depend on whether a person has already been infected with dengue or not.
The most common symptoms of dengue are fever, nausea, and flu-like symptoms. Severe dengue, however, can even cause blood haemorrhage and is a life-threatening disease.
Globally, more than 14 million cases of dengue are reported every year. According to the 9th Lancet Countdown Report on Health and Climate Change, released in October 2025, dengue’s transmission potential has increased due to climate change.
(Edited by Aakriti Handa)