Johnson & Johnson’s Dengue Fever Pill Shows Promise in Trial

October 21, 2023

Johnson & Johnson has unveiled promising results from a trial of its experimental pill for dengue fever, a disease that currently lacks specific treatments.

A Potential Breakthrough

Johnson & Johnson’s experimental pill has shown effectiveness against dengue fever in a small human challenge trial conducted in the United States.
This development is significant because there are currently no specific treatments available for dengue, which is considered a growing global health threat.

Understanding Human Challenge Trials

In human challenge trials, researchers intentionally expose healthy volunteers to a pathogen to evaluate potential vaccines or treatments and to gain a better understanding of the disease.

Dengue Fever: A Significant Health Concern

Dengue fever, also known as “break bone fever,” can cause severe joint pain and spasms in some patients. It is a major health issue across Asia and Latin America, resulting in millions of infections and tens of thousands of deaths annually.
Climate change is expected to expand the areas where the mosquitoes that carry the dengue virus can thrive, increasing the disease’s spread.

Trial Details

In the trial conducted in collaboration with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, ten volunteers received a high dose of the J&J pill five days before being injected with a type of dengue virus. They continued taking the pill for 21 days afterward.
Remarkably, six of the ten participants who received the experimental pill showed no detectable dengue virus in their blood after exposure to the pathogen. Furthermore, their immune systems did not appear to respond to the virus during 85 days of monitoring.
In contrast, the five individuals in a placebo group, who were also injected with dengue, all showed detectable virus levels.

Next Steps: Phase II Trials

The promising early data supports the continuation of Phase II trials of the pill, which aims to prevent all four different types of dengue in regions where the disease is prevalent.
The next stage will involve testing the pill as a treatment for dengue fever.

Mechanism of Action

The drug works by blocking the action of two viral proteins, preventing the virus from replicating. Importantly, it was well-tolerated by all trial participants.

Ensuring Access to the New Drug

A critical question for the future is how to ensure access to the new drug, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where it is urgently needed.
This challenge echoes the issues surrounding the dengue vaccine endorsed by the World Health Organization earlier this month, where equitable access remains a concern.

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