J&J discontinues dengue drug study after changes in R&D portfolio

(Reuters) -Johnson & Johnson said it will discontinue a mid-stage field study evaluating the efficacy of its experimental pill for the prevention of dengue following a reprioritization of the drugmaker’s communicable diseases R&D portfolio.

No safety issues were identified, the company said on Friday.

Six of 10 participants on the drug mosnodenvir showed no detectable dengue virus in their blood after being injected with a type of dengue, according to data that was presented by J&J (NYSE:JNJ) in October last year from another mid-stage study.

The drug works by blocking the action of two viral proteins, preventing the dengue virus from making copies of itself.

J&J said that efficacy data from the field study will be available once the final data analyses are complete.

Dengue fever, while often asymptomatic, is also known as “break bone fever” for the severity of the joint pain and spasms that some patients experience.

About half of the world’s population is at risk of mosquito-borne dengue disease with an estimated 100 million to 400 million infections occurring each year, according to the World Health Organization.