The plan to produce a dengue fever vaccine has been postponed after the Bt80-million needed was not approved, director general for the Thailand Centre of Excel-lence for Life Sciences (TCELS), Dr Thongchai Tavichachart says.

Thongchai says TCELS submitted its proposal, asking for Bt80 million to construct a plant to conduct clinical trials before producing the vaccine on a commercial scale.

Earlier this year, TCELS successfully developed a prototype vaccine to prevent haemorrhagic fever in four strains of dengue.

The prototype is the first of its kind and could save children aged from five to 10.

The vaccine has been under development for more than 28 years by a Mahidol research team.