Hyderabad: Bharat Biotech International Limited has announced the global launch of Hillchol, a novel oral cholera vaccine. The company has completed the phase 3 trials of the vaccine and found it safe for public consumption. According to the manufacturer, the vaccine aims to address the issue of supply shortages amidst an expanding outbreak of Cholera.
The World Health Organization (WHO) in June 2024 said that 249,793 cholera cases and 2,137 deaths were reported in 25 countries in the first six months of the year. Meanwhile, in 2023, 166,442 cases and 69 deaths were reported during the same period. While 102 million oral cholera vaccine doses were requested by 17 countries since 2023, just half of it, 51 million doses were produced. Bharat Biotech in a press release said that it plans to bridge this worldwide deficit by producing more than 40 million doses of Hillchol per year and a total of 200 million doses.
The vaccine, a single-dose respule is given on days 0 and 14 and can be administered to individuals above the age of one. It has been developed under license from Singapore’s Hilleman Laboratories. Bharat Biotech will start large-scale production of these vaccines from its Hyderabad facility.
