AsianScientist (Apr. 4, 2017) – A joint research project by Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore (A*STAR) to develop an anti-dengue virus antibody has been selected as a grant recipient by the Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT Fund).
Dengue fever is a mosquito-transmitted febrile disease that is rapidly spreading in tropical and subtropical urbanized regions. In severe cases, it progresses to lethal dengue hemorrhagic fever or dengue shock syndrome.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 390 million people globally are infected with the dengue virus each year, and although an estimated 500,000 of these cases become severe and require hospitalization, there is currently no effective drug for the treatment of dengue fever.
The dengue virus is known to have four different serotypes. In 2015, A*STAR’s Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN) researchers identified a new human antibody that is highly effective in neutralizing the activity of all four dengue virus serotypes. Chugai Pharmabody Research Pte. Ltd. (CPR), a research center of the Chugai Group in Singapore, then used Chugai’s proprietary antibody engineering technologies to optimize the antibody.
In recognition for the joint research project’s contributions to the “fight against neglected tropical diseases in developing countries,” the GHIT Fund has awarded the project a US$5.3 million grant to develop the antibody further.
“GHIT’s support for this public-private partnership is an endorsement of the strength of this research project to combat one of the world’s major infectious diseases,” said Mr. Lim Chuan Poh, Chairman of A*STAR.
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Source: A*STAR; Photo: Shutterstock.
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