Strategic Initiative Overview

Panacea Biotec announced the launch of the DENSTAR project, a four-year initiative starting June 1, 2026, to advance the licensure of its tetravalent live-attenuated dengue vaccine DengiAll® in sub-Saharan Africa and facilitate its broader global use.

Funding and Partnership Structure

  • The project is funded under the Global Health European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership 3 Joint Undertaking (GH EDCTP3 JU) supported by the European Union
  • EDCTP contribution: €11,091,138.75
  • Grant number: 101249135 - DENSTAR
  • Project duration: 48 months from 1st June 2026

Consortium Composition

The DENSTAR consortium unites 10 partners from 9 countries:

  • Sclavo Vaccines Association ETS (Italy) - Project coordinator
  • Panacea Biotec Limited (India) - Developer of DengiAll® vaccine
  • Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (Ghana)
  • Universitatsklinikum Heidelberg (Germany)
  • National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (United States)
  • International Vaccine Institute (Republic of Korea)
  • Centre de Recherches Medicales de Lambarene (Gabon)
  • Institute Nacional de Saude (Mozambique)
  • Johns Hopkins University (United States)
  • Institut National De Recherche Biomedicale Du Zaire (Democratic Republic of the Congo)

Vaccine Technology and Advantages

DengiAll® is a tetravalent dengue vaccine targeting all four virus serotypes with several advantages for widespread use:

  • Single-dose administration
  • Cost-efficient to manufacture
  • Suitable for large-scale deployment and technology transfer
  • Requires no prior serological testing
  • Currently in late-stage development in India

Clinical Development Plan

The consortium will conduct:

  • Phase 1/III studies in healthy African adults and children to confirm safety and efficacy
  • Evaluation of vaccine efficacy against Dengue Virus serotype 4 (DENV-4) using Controlled Human Infection Models (CHIMs)
  • Research focused on immunobridging studies to enable licensure in sub-Saharan Africa

Strategic Impact and Capacity Building

The project includes commitment to sustainable capacity advancement:

  • Training opportunities for MPH and PhD students at participating institutions
  • Strengthening readiness of African study sites to conduct high-quality clinical trials
  • Building locally led research capacity that continues beyond project duration
  • Aiming to reduce dengue burden, improve quality of life, and alleviate pressure on health systems

Company Background Context

Panacea Biotec provided context on its vaccine capabilities:

  • Delivered over 10 billion doses of oral polio vaccines for polio eradication in India
  • Launched world's first fully liquid wP-IPV based hexavalent vaccine EasySix in March 2017
  • Made available over 220 million doses of fully-liquid combination vaccines worldwide
  • Supplied vaccines for over 100 million people in 2025 alone
  • Other key vaccines: Easyfive-TT, EasyFour-TT, EasyFour-Pol, Bivalent oral polio vaccine
  • Pipeline vaccines: Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine NucoVac-11, Recombinant Tetravalent Dengue Candidate Vaccine DengiAll, and Td vaccine

Leadership Commentary

  • Prof. Donata Medaglini (DENSTAR Coordinator): "DENSTAR is a unique consortium that concentrates international excellence in vaccine research, development, manufacture, and clinical trials"
  • Prof. Ellis Owusu-Dabo (Scientific project Lead): "The primary challenge is to advance a live-attenuated tetravalent dengue vaccine through immunobridging and controlled human infection model studies"
  • Dr. Khalid Ali Syed (CSO of Panacea Biotec): "The project efforts are expected to have a lasting impact on global health, extending beyond the project's immediate scope"
  • Prof. Till Barnighausen and Dr. Florian Marks highlighted the project's commitment to sustainable capacity advancement alongside vaccine development