TravelSafe Clinic announces the Indian Japanese Encephalitis (JE) Vaccine for Travelers

Dec. 12, 2012 - PRLog -- Biological E has launched the first JE vaccine for the private sector in India. Working on Intercell AG's technology platform for seven years, Biological E, one of the leading Indian vaccine manufacturers, has launched a safe and effective vaccine against Japanese Encephalitis, a deadly infectious disease and the leading cause of Acute Encephalitis.

Background: In 2005, Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring country Nepal witnessed death of over 1200 children during an epidemic outbreak of Japanese Encephalitis (JE), a deadly infectious disease found mainly in Asia. This deadly viral disease is the leading cause of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES). The situation continues to remain the same even today. There were more than 8,000 confirmed cases recorded in India in 2011 with over 1100 death cases. JE is known for high mortality (up to 35-40 percent) and high morbidity, where up to 50 percent of all survivors end up with physical and mental disabilities after surviving the disease. There is no specific treatment available for JE and vaccination is the most effective weapon against the disease. Inactivated vaccines are considered to have a better safety profile as compared to live vaccines. Currently, there is no other vaccine available to private doctors in India.

Intercell AG has a technology whose base includes novel platforms, such as the patch-based delivery system and the proprietary human monoclonal antibody discovery system eMAB, in addition to well-established technologies upon which the company has entered into strategic partnerships with a number of leading pharmaceutical companies, including GSK, Merck, Novartis and Sanofi.  
Using this technology Biological E has developed a vaccine against JE after seven years of in house R&D effort and support from its technology partner, Intercell AG. This vaccine is a second generation inactivated Japanese Encephalitis vaccine based on the SA 14-14-2 strain and does not contain any gelatine stabilizers or thimerosal and the vaccine's safety and efficacy has been established through multiple studies on Indian subjects and is also licensed by the Drug Controller General of India.

Technical aspects of the JE vaccine:

Second generation inactivated vaccine based on the SA 14-14-2 strain
Does not contain any Gelatine stabilizers or Thimerosal
Safety and efficacy of the vaccine has been established through multiple studies on Indian subjects

The vaccine is approved for immunization against JE for both paediatric and adult subjects.

Intercell's vaccine against Japanese encephalitis, which formed the basis for the technology transfer to Biological E, is licensed by the United States Food and Drug Administration, European Medicine Agency and multiple countries like Australia, Canada, and Switzerland. There is no other JE vaccine currently in the private market and JEEV is the only vaccine available. The Government of India imports a live attenuated vaccine from China for public immunization. JEEV is a second generation inactivated cell culture vaccine against JE.

“While this vaccination was launched in India in September, 2012, the paediatrician/ travel health specialist had to wait another 3 months before the vaccine has finally made it to the Indian market. With its availability, travellers to & from India will be able to easily get JE vaccine which was a big problem earlier”, said Dr Gaurav Gupta, MD TravelSafe Clinic, India.

TravelSafe Clinic is India’s first certified, branded & authoritative multi-city travel health clinic. Our Aim is to create a World Class, state of the art travel health clinic, providing up-to-date advice to make International travel safe and healthy while avoiding common preventable diseases. We have trained physicians and paramedical staff to help deal with all your travel health questions. TravelSafe clinics are located in Mohali (Chandigarh) & Noida (National Capital Region, Delhi). We are the only travel clinic to be members of all the elite professional travel health organizations in the world including International Society for Travel Medicine (ISTM), American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene (ASTMH), and International Association for Medical Assistance to Travelers (IAMAT), and British & Global Travel Health Association (BGTHA). We are also the only organization from India to have presented data on the safety & tolerability of Stamaril (Yellow Fever Vaccine) in Indian population at various International conferences. Visit: www.travelsafeclinic.com