Takeda Pharmaceutical, through its Indian subsidiary Takeda Biopharmaceuticals India Private Limited, and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, along with its subsidiaries, have entered into a distribution agreement under which Dr. Reddy’s will promote and distribute Takeda’s dengue vaccine, QDENGA, across India’s private market for paediatric and adult vaccination. Subject to completion of applicable processes with local authorities, the vaccine is anticipated to become available in the first half of 2027.
The collaboration follows the approval of QDENGA’s marketing authorisation by India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) in July 2026 for individuals aged 4-60 years. QDENGA is India’s first approved dengue vaccine.
Takeda is committed to supporting the country’s long-term dengue control efforts and enabling access to QDENGA. While inclusion in India’s public immunisation programme remains a 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.
Through the collaboration, Takeda and Dr. Reddy’s will support healthcare-professional engagement, disease awareness, promotion and distribution of QDENGA across India’s private market for paediatric and adult vaccination, in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements.
Dengue remains a public-health challenge in India, with reported cases increasing 11-fold over the past two decades. According to a nationwide dengue surveillance study conducted by the Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratory of the Indian Council of Medical Research, all four dengue virus serotypes (DENV-1 to DENV-4) are co-circulating across multiple regions in India, with 1 in 14 patients being infected with multiple dengue serotypes concurrently.
With dengue cases occurring year-round across India, dengue prevention and management is a public-health priority.
Dr Mahender Nayak, Head of Intercontinental Markets, International Business Unit Takeda, said, “Takeda is committed to supporting India’s evolving healthcare needs and expanding access to dengue vaccination. We welcome the recent Parliamentary Committee on Health’s recommendation to consider dengue vaccine for the Universal Immunization Program. *3 This reflects the growing recognition of dengue as a significant public health challenge. In parallel, our private-market collaboration with Dr. Reddy’s will help enable timely private-market access for eligible individuals once QDENGA becomes available in India.”
M.V. Ramana, CEO – Global Generics, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, said, “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. Through our collaboration with Takeda, we look forward to making QDENGA available to eligible individuals and contributing to efforts aimed at addressing the country’s dengue burden.”
In preparation for the anticipated availability of the vaccine in India in the first half of 2027, the collaboration brings together Takeda’s and Dr. Reddy’s capabilities and commitment to improving patient access in India.
Takeda, headquartered in Japan, is a biopharmaceutical company with a presence in around 80 countries and more than 245 years of heritage. The company has been discovering and delivering treatments across oncology, gastroenterology, inflammation, rare diseases, plasma-derived therapies, neuroscience and vaccines. Under the collaboration, Takeda will contribute its expertise in dengue prevention and vaccine science, as well as experience in disease education and medical, regulatory, and brand strategy.
Takeda retains the rights to promote and distribute QDENGA in India’s public market. In addition, Takeda retains legal ownership as well as overall medical and brand oversight rights of QDENGA in India.
Headquartered in Hyderabad, India for over 40 years, Dr. Reddy’s is a pharmaceutical company focused on access to affordable and innovative medicines. The company has a presence across 85+ markets worldwide and capabilities in market development, healthcare engagement, and commercial execution.
Dr. Reddy’s is the exclusive partner for the promotion and distribution of QDENGA in the private market for paediatric and adult vaccination. The company will leverage its vaccine expertise, healthcare professional network across private institutions, vaccinators and physicians, and nationwide distribution infrastructure to support the introduction of QDENGA in private markets and expand access to dengue prevention in India.
The collaboration with Dr. Reddy’s forms part of Takeda’s long-term commitment to supporting India’s evolving healthcare needs and dengue-prevention efforts. Continued cross-sector collaboration will be important to advancing surveillance, awareness, vector control and community engagement.
Since 2022, Takeda’s dengue vaccine has been approved in 43 countries including India. More than 32 million doses have been distributed worldwide through public and private programmes across Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam in Asia, as well as in Latin America and Europe, including Brazil’s National Immunization Program and public programmes in Argentina, Colombia, Indonesia and Thailand.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended the vaccine without pre-vaccination screening for use in high endemic countries. It has been listed in the WHO’s List of Prequalified Vaccines for use in public vaccination programmes to help address the global dengue threat.