Sanofi Reels in Brazilian Approval for Dengue Vaccine

Brazil has approved Sanofi Pasteur’s new dengue vaccine Dengvaxia as a preventive tool, the company announced late last month.

Under the decision, made by the country’s regulator ANVISA, the vaccine can be used to ward off all four types of dengue in people ages 9 to 45 in regions where the tropical disease is present.

More than 1.4 million Brazilians were infected with the virus this outbreak season, of whom up to 70 percent could have benefited from the vaccine.

Dengvaxia, tested in 40,000 people internationally, was approved early last month in the Philippines and Mexico.