Forbes A pill to prevent dengue fever—a viral infection also called “breakbone fever” for the severe pain it can cause—could be on the horizon, according to data presented by Johnson & Johnson on Friday, promising news that could signal a future treatment against what experts warn is a pressing and growing health threat that could soon return to plague the United States.
An antiviral pill developed by pharma giant Johnson & Johnson appeared to protect people against dengue when exposed to a virus that causes the disease, according to early data from the company’s clinical trial presented at the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene Annual Meeting in Chicago.
The trial involved healthy volunteers taking the drug—called JNJ-1802—or an inert placebo for 26 days and being injected on day five with a type of dengue virus, a type of study known as a challenge trial.