On 25 June 2026, the DENSTAR Project officially started with a successful Kick-Off Meeting. The event was hosted by the project coordinator, the Sclavo Vaccines Association, in Siena, Italy.
DENSTAR is a four-years initiative funded under Global Health European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership 3 Joint Undertaking (GH EDCTP3 JU), supported by the European Union aiming to advance the licensure of the dengue vaccine DengiAllä in Africa and beyond.
To ensure broad participation across the Consortium, the meeting was organized in a hybrid format, enabling both in-person and remote attendance. Participants joined from across the globe, including Europe, US, India, Africa and South Korea, reflecting the project’s strong international dimension and fostering engagement among Partners from diverse geographical and institutional backgrounds.
The event provided an excellent opportunity for partners to exchange expectations and discuss the scientific foundations of the project. The meeting was also attended by the GH EDCTP3 Project Officers, who welcomed the newly formed Consortium and provided insightful guidance on both the scientific and financial aspects of the project. Consortium representatives had the opportunity to share insights on estimated project timelines and plans for all the activities across the seven Work Packages:
WP1 – An age de-escalating population bridging study in Africa
WP2 – DENV-4 Phase IIb CHIM efficacy study in Africa
WP3 – Project Management and Coordination
WP4 – Communication and Dissemination
WP5 – Capacity building and networking
WP6 – Ethics requirements
WP7 – Scientific Project Leadership
Partners actively contributed to the discussions, demonstrating strong enthusiasm and a shared commitment to building a robust and collaborative network. The Kick-Off Meeting concluded with a Steering Committee meeting, during which partners provided positive feedback on the project’s launch and explored potential options for hosting the next Annual Meeting, in one year’s time.
The meeting marked an important milestone for the DENSTAR consortium and laid the foundation for a productive collaboration towards strengthening dengue vaccine development and access.
Meeting organization:
Sclavo Vaccines Association ETS
Email: denstar@sclavo.org