The School of Public Health at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has joined a major international consortium seeking to accelerate the licensure and deployment of a promising dengue vaccine across sub-Saharan Africa and other regions.
The initiative, known as the DENSTAR Project, will evaluate DengiAll, a single-dose tetravalent live-attenuated dengue vaccine designed to protect against all four dengue virus serotypes. KNUST will play a key role in the project by hosting Phase III clinical trials in Africa.
The four-year project, which began on June 1, 2026, brings together leading universities, research institutions, biotechnology companies, healthcare experts, regulators, and non-profit organisations from Europe, Africa, Asia, and North America.
Funded by the Global Health European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership 3 Joint Undertaking (GH EDCTP3 JU) with support from the European Union, the consortium has secured more than €11 million to support research and clinical trials aimed at reducing the burden of dengue fever and other neglected tropical diseases.
Dengue fever, a mosquito-borne viral disease, is increasingly emerging as a major public health threat in sub-Saharan Africa due to climate change, rapid urbanisation and growing insecticide resistance. While many infections are mild, severe dengue can cause haemorrhage, shock, organ failure and death.
Despite the disease’s growing prevalence, there is no specific antiviral treatment for dengue, while existing vaccines have limitations that complicate large-scale deployment.
The DENSTAR consortium aims to address these challenges through the development and evaluation of DengiAll. Unlike currently available vaccines, DengiAll does not require prior serological screening before administration, making it particularly suitable for low- and middle-income countries where access to diagnostic testing is often limited.
The consortium comprises ten institutions from nine countries, including KNUST in Ghana, Panacea Biotec Limited in India, the University of Siena in Italy, Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg in Germany, Johns Hopkins University and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in the United States, the International Vaccine Institute in South Korea, Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné in Gabon, Instituto Nacional de Saúde in Mozambique, and the Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale du Zaire in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
As part of the project, Phase I and Phase III clinical studies will be conducted among healthy African adults and children to assess the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness. Researchers will also undertake Controlled Human Infection Model (CHIM) studies to evaluate protection against Dengue Virus Serotype 4 (DENV-4), a strain for which no dengue vaccine has yet demonstrated proven efficacy.
Deputy Rector of the University of Siena, Chief Scientific Officer of the Sclavo Vaccines Association and DENSTAR Coordinator, Professor Donata Medaglini, described the initiative as a landmark collaboration.
“DENSTAR is a unique consortium that concentrates international excellence in vaccine research, development, manufacture and clinical trials. By uniting top experts from academia, industry and non-profit organisations, we are forging a true public-private partnership to bridge critical gaps in dengue prevention,” she said.
She added that making an effective dengue vaccine available in Africa would represent a significant step towards improving health outcomes and supporting healthy and productive lives across the continent.
Chief Scientific Officer of Panacea Biotec Limited, Dr Khalid Ali Syed, said the project had the potential to reduce dengue infections, improve quality of life and lessen pressure on healthcare systems worldwide.
Professor Ellis Owusu-Dabo, immediate past Pro Vice-Chancellor of KNUST, Professor of Epidemiology and Global Health at the KNUST School of Public Health, and Scientific Project Lead for DENSTAR, said the initiative comes at a time when dengue infections are becoming increasingly common across sub-Saharan Africa.
“Dengue infections can range from mild to potentially fatal in the most severe cases. It is becoming more common in sub-Saharan Africa. The primary challenge of the DENSTAR project is to advance a live-attenuated tetravalent dengue vaccine through controlled human infection model studies to enable its licensure in sub-Saharan Africa,” he said.
Professor Owusu-Dabo said KNUST was honoured to host the Phase III clinical trial component of the project, adding that the university’s participation reflects its growing leadership in global health research and commitment to generating evidence to support the safe and effective use of the DengiAll vaccine across Africa.
