Vaccine 'effective' against dengue

MOUNT PLEASANT — A vaccine created here has proved "100 percent effective" in protecting monkeys against all four strains of dengue fever. Now, researchers plan to see if they get the same results with humans, a local scientist said.

The medical development has major health implications because about 2.5 billion people live in dengue-infested areas, according to the World Health Organization.

The Naval Medical Research Center will conduct human clinical trials of the vaccine created at GenPhar's headquarters on Seacoast Parkway.

The potential economic impact for the state and region is enormous. The worldwide market for an approved dengue vaccine is estimated at up to $4 billion annually, said Dr. John Dong, president and chief science officer of GenPhar Inc.

The research could lead to the world's first vaccine for all forms of dengue fever, which infects an estimated 50 million people annually, making it second only to malaria among tropical diseases. Dengue virus infection can result in shock, encephalitis, hemorrhagic fever and even death. Dengue goes by other names, including "breakbone fever." Victims of dengue often have contortions because of intense joint and muscle pain, hence the name.

Although expensive to develop, a dengue vaccine is cost-effective to manufacture, Dong said.

GenPhar hired bio-tech firm Sigma-Aldrich to make its dengue vaccine in California until the local firm's new $33 million headquarters is completed at year's end. Vaccine manufacturing operations then will shift to the 55,000-square-foot building under construction on South Morgan's Point Road behind The Market at Oakland shopping center, Dong said.

The operation poses no public health threat because live virus is not used in the creation of any of the vaccines made here for deadly diseases such as dengue fever, Ebola and Marburg, Dong said.

GenPhar makes vaccines for biodefense and chronic diseases such as HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Its vaccines for Ebola, Marburg and a combination of Ebola and Marburg proved 100 percent effective in U.S. Army animal studies. Human trials of those vaccines are planned in collaboration with the Army, GenPhar said.

There is a small risk for dengue fever outbreaks in the continental United States. Six instances of dengue virus transmission have turned up in South Texas in the last 25 years. American travelers to tropical areas where den

Road behind The Market at Oakland shopping center, Dong said.

The operation poses no public health threat because live virus is not used in the creation of any of the vaccines made here for deadly diseases such as dengue fever, Ebola and Marburg, Dong said.

GenPhar makes vaccines for biodefense and chronic diseases such as HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Its vaccines for Ebola, Marburg and a combination of Ebola and Marburg proved 100 percent effective in U.S. Army animal studies. Human trials of those vaccines are planned in collaboration with the Army, GenPhar said.

There is a small risk for dengue fever outbreaks in the continental United States. Six instances of dengue virus transmission have turned up in South Texas in the last 25 years. American travelers to tropical areas where dengue viruses are endemic are at risk, according to the CDC. "Any traveler potentially can bring the virus into the U.S.," Dong said.

Sanofi-Aventis is building a plant in France to manufacture a dengue fever vaccine that will work against only one strain of the virus.

A person who contracts one form of dengue is not immune to the other three strains.

Getting dengue once is bad enough. Those unlucky enough to later come down with a different strain of the virus have been known to wish for anything but another bout with dengue. Some have said they'd rather die than experience the disease again, Dong said.

The French government tried to lure GenPhar overseas from its headquarters east of the Cooper, but the company decided to stay here. "They actually wanted us to move to Paris," Dong said.

The new GenPhar headquarters were made possible by town, county and state government incentives. GenPhar envisions a cluster of biotech companies in the town along the lines of Research Triangle Park in North Carolina.

The town of Mount Pleasant, Charleston County and Mount Pleasant Waterworks shared the $60,000 cost for roads, water and sewer at the new GenPhar facility. The state provided tax breaks and job development credits. South Carolina Electric & Gas and AT&T chipped in utility tax credits.

Reach Prentiss Findlay at 937-5711 or pfindlay@postandcourier.com.