Partnership for a dengue vaccine

A Butantan vaccine in final trials leads to a US$100 million agreement with a US pharma company

Vaccines being bottled at the Butantan plant

The Butantan Institute

Rafael Garcia

The Butantan Institute last December 12 signed a collaboration agreement using an innovative model that promises to speed up development of its US-patented dengue vaccine, now in final, Phase 3 trials on volunteers in Brazil. In a country more accustomed to buying foreign scientific technology and services, the new agreement with US pharmaceutical company MSD (Merck Sharp & Dohme) will be a game changer, bringing in foreign investment while providing a platform to share data and experience so the products developed by the two partners—one public and one private—can get to people faster…