Collaboration in the fight against Dengue fever

The Rega Instituut of the KU Leuven, the Wellcome Trust and Janssen are together joining the fight against Dengue fever (breakbone fever). In August 2013 they concluded a collaboration agreement for the development of a treatment or preventive medicine against Dengue fever virus infection.
The Dengue virus is potentially life-threatening. It is a virus spread by mosquitoes that infects hundreds of millions of people every year, chiefly in the developing countries. At present there is still no approved vaccine or specific treatment for the disease. The Rega Instituut and Janssen are pooling their expertise and resources in a joint research program. The Wellcome Trust will finance Rega Instituut’s research activities. Janssen will obtain the possibility of taking out an exclusive, worldwide license for the development and commercialization of compounds that could be discovered within the context of this research program.
This collaboration is another example of Janssen’s efforts to combat contagious diseases with a still largely unanswered medical need.
