Takeda’s Dengue Vaccine Candidate Provides Continued Protection Against Dengue Fever Through 4.5 Years in Pivotal Clinical Trial

• In Long-Term Exploratory Analysis, TAK-003 Prevented 84% of Hospitalizations and 61% of Symptomatic Dengue Illness Overall, with No Identified Important Safety Risks

• Results Through 4.5 Years Conclude the Evaluation of the Primary Two-Dose Series of TAK-003

• TAK-003 is Currently Undergoing Regulatory Review for Potential Licensure in Both the European Union and Select Dengue-Endemic Countries

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Takeda (TSE:4502/NYSE:TAK) today announced that its dengue vaccine candidate, TAK-003, prevented 84% of hospitalized dengue cases and 61% of symptomatic dengue cases, with no important safety risks identified, in the overall population including both seropositive and seronegative individuals through four and a half years (54 months) after vaccination in the pivotal Phase 3 Tetravalent Immunization against Dengue Efficacy Study (TIDES) trial. These data were presented on June 9, 2022, at the 8^th Northern European Conference on Travel Medicine (NECTM8), with plans to feature the results at additional upcoming conferences.

“The burden of dengue is far reaching, and over half of the world’s population is at risk of dengue each year,” said Eng Eong Ooi, Ph.D., M.D., Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore. “There is an urgent need for impactful prevention tools to combat the disease. The long-term TIDES results indicate that TAK-003 could be an important addition to the limited tools we have to prevent dengue, particularly given the demonstrated protection against hospitalizations.”

Through four and a half years, TAK-003 demonstrated 84.1% vaccine efficacy (VE) (95% CI: 77.8, 88.6) against hospitalized dengue, with 85.9% VE (78.7, 90.7) in seropositive individuals and 79.3% VE (63.5, 88.2) in seronegative individuals. TAK-003 also demonstrated overall VE of 61.2% (95% CI: 56.0, 65.8) against virologically-confirmed dengue (VCD), with 64.2% VE (58.4, 69.2) in seropositive individuals and 53.5% VE (41.6, 62.9) in seronegative individuals. Observations of VE varied by serotype and remained consistent with previously reported results. TAK-003 was generally well tolerated, and there were no important safety risks identified. No evidence of disease enhancement was observed over the 54-month follow-up exploratory analysis.

“Dengue is a complex, global disease, and the TIDES trial was designed to account for this, including both dengue-naïve and dengue-exposed populations in Latin America and Asia where outbreaks are prevalent, with evaluation over four and a half years,” said Gary Dubin, President, Global Vaccine Business Unit at Takeda. “We are proud that the results continue to demonstrate the efficacy and safety of TAK-003 and its ability to provide long-term protection against dengue.”

These new long-term results supplement previously published TIDES data that demonstrated the candidate vaccine met its primary endpoint of overall VE against VCD, with 80.2% efficacy at 12-months follow-up, as well as all secondary endpoints for which there were a sufficient number of dengue cases at 18-months follow-up, including 90.4% VE against hospitalized dengue. While the long-term follow-up for the primary two-dose series has been completed, the TIDES trial remains ongoing to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a booster dose. The TIDES trial is Takeda’s largest interventional clinical trial to date, enrolling more than 20,000 healthy children and adolescents four to 16 years of age, across eight dengue-endemic countries, over the past four and a half years.

TAK-003 is currently undergoing regulatory review for the prevention of dengue disease in children and adults in the European Union and select dengue-endemic countries.

About TAK-003

Takeda's tetravalent dengue vaccine candidate (TAK-003) is based on a live-attenuated dengue serotype 2 virus, which provides the genetic “backbone” for all four vaccine viruses.¹ Clinical Phase 2 data in children and adolescents showed that TAK-003 induced immune responses against all four dengue serotypes, in both seropositive and seronegative participants, which persisted through 48 months after vaccination, and the vaccine was found to be generally safe and well tolerated.² The pivotal Phase 3 Tetravalent Immunization against Dengue Efficacy Study (TIDES) trial met its primary endpoint of overall vaccine efficacy (VE) against virologically-confirmed dengue (VCD) at 12-months follow-up and all secondary endpoints at 18-months follow-up for which there were a sufficient number of dengue cases, including VE against hospitalized dengue and VE in baseline seropositive and baseline seronegative individuals.^3,4 Efficacy varied by serotype. The results demonstrated TAK-003 was generally well tolerated, and there have been no important safety risks observed to date.

About the Phase 3 TIDES (DEN-301) Trial

The double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 3 Tetravalent Immunization against Dengue Efficacy Study (TIDES) trial is evaluating the safety and efficacy of two doses of TAK-003 in the prevention of laboratory-confirmed symptomatic dengue fever of any severity and due to any of the four dengue virus serotypes in children and adolescents.³ Study participants were randomized 2:1 to receive two doses of TAK-003 0.5 mL or placebo on Months 0 and 3, administered subcutaneously.³ The study is comprised of five parts. Part 1 and the primary endpoint analysis evaluated vaccine efficacy (VE) and safety through 12 months after the second dose.³ Part 2 continued for an additional six months to complete the assessment of the secondary endpoints of VE by serotype, baseline serostatus and disease severity, including VE against hospitalized dengue.³ Part 3 is evaluating VE and long-term safety by following participants for an additional two and a half to three years, as per World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations.⁵ Part 4 will evaluate efficacy and safety for 13 months following booster vaccination and Part 5 will evaluate long-term efficacy and safety for one year after completion of Part 4.⁵

The trial is taking place at sites in dengue-endemic areas in Latin America (Brazil, Colombia, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua) and Asia (Philippines, Thailand and Sri Lanka) where there are unmet needs in dengue prevention and where severe dengue is a leading cause of serious illness and death among children.⁵ Baseline blood samples were collected from all individuals participating in the trial to allow for evaluation of safety and efficacy based on serostatus. Takeda and an independent Data Monitoring Committee of experts are actively monitoring safety on an ongoing basis.

About Dengue

Dengue is the fastest spreading mosquito-borne viral disease and was one of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) top 10 threats to global health in 2019.^6,7 Dengue is mainly spread by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and, to a lesser extent, Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. It is caused by any of four dengue virus serotypes, each of which can cause dengue fever or severe dengue. The prevalence of individual serotypes varies across different geographies, countries, regions, seasons and over time.⁸ Recovery from infection by one serotype provides lifelong immunity against only that serotype, and later exposure to any of the remaining serotypes might be associated with an increased risk of severe disease.

Dengue is pandemic prone, and outbreaks are observed in tropical and sub-tropical areas and have recently caused outbreaks in parts of the continental United States and Europe.^9,10 Approximately half of the world now lives under the threat of dengue, which is estimated to cause 390 million infections, 500,000 hospitalizations and 20,000 deaths globally each year.^9,11 The dengue virus can infect people of all ages and is a leading cause of serious illness among children in some countries in Latin America and Asia.⁹

Takeda’s Commitment to Vaccines

Vaccines prevent 3.5 to 5 million deaths each year and have transformed global public health.¹² For more than 70 years, Takeda has supplied vaccines to protect the health of people in Japan. Today, Takeda’s global vaccine business is applying innovation to tackle some of the world’s most challenging infectious diseases, such as dengue, COVID-19, pandemic influenza and Zika. Takeda’s team brings an outstanding track record and a wealth of knowledge in vaccine development and manufacturing to advance a pipeline of vaccines to address some of the world’s most pressing public health needs. For more information, visit www.TakedaVaccines.com.

About Takeda

Takeda is a global, values-based, R&D-driven biopharmaceutical leader headquartered in Japan, committed to discover and deliver life-transforming treatments, guided by our commitment to patients, our people and the planet. Takeda focuses its R&D efforts on four therapeutic areas: Oncology, Rare Genetics and Hematology, Neuroscience, and Gastroenterology (GI). We also make targeted R&D investments in Plasma-Derived Therapies and Vaccines. We are focusing on developing highly innovative medicines that contribute to making a difference in people’s lives by advancing the frontier of new treatment options and leveraging our enhanced collaborative R&D engine and capabilities to create a robust, modality-diverse pipeline. Our employees are committed to improving quality of life for patients and to working with our partners in health care in approximately 80 countries and regions. For more information, visit https://www.takeda.com.

Important Notice

For the purposes of this notice, “press release” means this document, any oral presentation, any question and answer session and any written or oral material discussed or distributed by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (“Takeda”) regarding this release. This press release (including any oral briefing and any question-and-answer in connection with it) is not intended to, and does not constitute, represent or form part of any offer, invitation or solicitation of any offer to purchase, otherwise acquire, subscribe for, exchange, sell or otherwise dispose of, any securities or the solicitation of any vote or approval in any jurisdiction. No shares or other securities are being offered to the public by means of this press release. No offering of securities shall be made in the United States except pursuant to registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or an exemption therefrom. This press release is being given (together with any further information which may be provided to the recipient) on the condition that it is for use by the recipient for information purposes only (and not for the evaluation of any investment, acquisition, disposal or any other transaction). Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of applicable securities laws.

The companies in which Takeda directly and indirectly owns investments are separate entities. In this press release, “Takeda” is sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Takeda and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words “we,” “us” and “our” are also used to refer to subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These expressions are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular company or companies.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release and any materials distributed in connection with this press release may contain forward-looking statements, beliefs or opinions regarding Takeda’s future business, future position and results of operations, including estimates, forecasts, targets and plans for Takeda. Without limitation, forward-looking statements often include words such as “targets,” “plans,” “believes,” “hopes,” “continues,” “expects,” “aims,” “intends,” “ensures,” “will,” “may,” “should,” “would,” “could” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “projects” or similar expressions or the negative thereof. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions about many important factors, including the following, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements: the economic circumstances surrounding Takeda’s global business, including general economic conditions in Japan and the United States; competitive pressures and developments; changes to applicable laws and regulations, including global health care reforms; challenges inherent in new product development, including uncertainty of clinical success and decisions of regulatory authorities and the timing thereof; uncertainty of commercial success for new and existing products; manufacturing difficulties or delays; fluctuations in interest and currency exchange rates; claims or concerns regarding the safety or efficacy of marketed products or product candidates; the impact of health crises, like the novel coronavirus pandemic, on Takeda and its customers and suppliers, including foreign governments in countries in which Takeda operates, or on other facets of its business; the timing and impact of post-merger integration efforts with acquired companies; the ability to divest assets that are not core to Takeda’s operations and the timing of any such divestment(s); and other factors identified in Takeda’s most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F and Takeda’s other reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, available on Takeda’s website at: https://www.takeda.com/investors/sec-filings/ or at www.sec.gov. Takeda does not undertake to update any of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release or any other forward-looking statements it may make, except as required by law or stock exchange rule. Past performance is not an indicator of future results and the results or statements of Takeda in this press release may not be indicative of, and are not an estimate, forecast, guarantee or projection of Takeda’s future results.

Medical information

This press release contains information about products that may not be available in all countries, or may be available under different trademarks, for different indications, in different dosages, or in different strengths. Nothing contained herein should be considered a solicitation, promotion or advertisement for any prescription drugs including the ones under development.

References

1. Huang CY-H, et al. Genetic and phenotypic characterization of manufacturing seeds for tetravalent dengue vaccine (DENVax). PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2013;7:e2243.
2. Tricou, V, Sáez-Llorens X, et al. Safety and immunogenicity of a tetravalent dengue vaccine in children aged 2-17 years: a randomised, placebo-controlled, phase 2 trial. Lancet. 2020. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30556-0.
3. Biswal S, et al. Efficacy of a tetravalent dengue vaccine in healthy children and adolescents. N Engl J Med. 2019; 2019;381:2009-2019.
4. Biswal S, et al. Efficacy of a tetravalent dengue vaccine in healthy children aged 4-16 years: a randomized, placebo controlled, phase 3 trial. Lancet. 2020. 2020;395:1423-1433.
5. ClinicalTrials.Gov. Efficacy, Safety and Immunogenicity of Takeda's Tetravalent Dengue Vaccine (TDV) in Healthy Children (TIDES). Retrieved June 2022.
6. World Health Organization. Factsheet. Dengue and Severe Dengue. April 2019. Retrieved June 2022.
7. World Health Organization. Ten threats to global health in 2019. 2019. Retrieved June 2022.
8. Guzman MG, et al. Dengue: a continuing global threat. Nature Reviews Microbiology. 2010;8:S7-S16.
9. Knowlton K, et al. Mosquito-Borne Dengue Fever Threat Spreading in the Americas. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). 2009. Retrieved June 2022.
10. Chan E, et al. Using web search query data to monitor dengue epidemics: a new model for neglected tropical disease surveillance. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2011;5:e1206.
11. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About Dengue: What You Need to Know. May 2019. Retrieved June 2022.
12. World Health Organization. Vaccines and immunization. 2022. Retrieved June 2022.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220609005106/en/