Dr Reddy's signs exclusive deal to distribute Takeda's Qdenga in India's private market

What the deal covers

The agreement covers promotion and distribution of Qdenga for pediatric and adult vaccination in India's private market, Takeda Biopharmaceuticals said. The vaccine received market authorisation from the Drugs Controller General of India in July 2026 for people aged 4 to 60. The deal is Takeda Pharmaceutical Company's second with an Indian company.

"As the second-largest vaccine player in India, we believe the introduction of India's first approved dengue vaccine is an important development for the country's healthcare landscape," said MV Ramana, Dr Reddy's chief executive for global generics. Takeda separately has a supply arrangement with Hyderabad-based Biological E, in place since 2024, to expand manufacturing.

Access and public programme

"While inclusion in India's public immunization program remains an important long-term ambition, private-market availability through Dr Reddy's will provide a pathway for eligible individuals to access the vaccine once it becomes available," the company said. A recent Parliamentary Committee on Health recommended that the government consider a dengue vaccine for the Universal Immunization Program. Mahender Nayak, Takeda's head of intercontinental markets, said the recommendation "reflects the growing recognition of dengue as a significant public health challenge."

India accounts for nearly one-third of the global dengue burden, and reported cases have risen 11-fold over the past two decades, according to Takeda. National Centre for Vector Borne Diseases Control data show 6,927 dengue cases and 10 deaths reported up to February 2026. The World Health Organization recorded 232,425 cases and 233 deaths in India for the whole of 2024.

The vaccine and its data

Qdenga, also known as TAK-003, is a live-attenuated tetravalent vaccine built on a DENV-2 backbone with pre-membrane and envelope genes from DENV-1, DENV-3 and DENV-4, according to a 2025 review in the journal Vaccines. It is given as two 0.5 ml subcutaneous injections three months apart and is designed to protect against all four dengue serotypes. In dengue-naive recipients, clear efficacy was shown mainly against DENV-1 and DENV-2, with less certainty for DENV-3 and DENV-4, according to a 2025 review in Expert Review of Vaccines.

At 12 months after the second dose, overall efficacy against virologically confirmed dengue was 80.2%, Takeda said. At 18 months, efficacy against dengue-related hospitalisation was 90.4%, and after 4.5 years two doses gave 84.1% against hospitalisation. The approval was also supported by a Phase III trial, DEN-302, in Indian participants aged 4 to 60 that evaluated safety and immunogenicity, not efficacy. Since its launch in 2022, Qdenga has been approved in 43 countries, with more than 32 million doses distributed, according to Nayak.

Manufacturing and supply

Nayak said the Biological E partnership is on track for a global manufacturing capacity of 100 million doses a year by 2030. Takeda says TAK-003 has been studied in more than 60,000 participants across eight dengue-endemic countries.

What happens next

Qdenga will first be sold through private healthcare facilities, with supply expected in the first half of 2027. The companies did not announce the price or volumes covered by the agreement. Takeda's Biological E partnership is expected to support production of up to 50 million doses annually through multi-dose vials for government procurement in endemic countries.