Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech launches oral cholera vaccine

Hyderabad: Hyderabad based Bio Tech giant, Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) had announced the launch of Oral Cholera Vaccine (OCV)- HILLCHOL here on Tuesday. Bharat Biotech, known for developing vaccine for Covid - Covaxin has developed this cholera vaccine under licence from Singapore-based vaccine research organisation Hilleman Laboratories.

Currently, only one manufacturer supplies OCVs worldwide, resulting in a yearly deficit of around 40 million doses. To mitigate this global shortage of oral cholera vaccine, Bharat Biotech has established large-scale manufacturing facilities in Hyderabad and Bhubaneswar with a capacity to produce up to 200 million doses.

Initially this OCV -HILLCHOL will be rolled out from Bharat Biotech's Hyderabad facility where it has the capacity to manufacture 45million doses. After the necessary approvals are in place manufacturing will begin at Bhubaneswar facility also.

While cholera is preventable and treatable, global cases and deaths have risen steadily since 2021. From early 2023 to March this year, 824,479 cases and 5,900 deaths were reported in 31 countries.

HILLCHOL is administered orally on Day 0 and Day 14 and is suitable for individuals older than one year. It is presented as a single-dose respule and should be stored between +2°C and +8°C. HILLCHOL is presented in a mono-multidose format, one of the first such presentations for vaccines.

“Vaccines provide the best intervention to prevent, limit and control cholera outbreaks. HILLCHOL is an excellent success story of partnership leading to public health solutions. Our new large-scale cGMP production facilities in Hyderabad and Bhubaneswar will significantly enhance our production and supply capabilities for this Oral Cholera Vaccine, advancing our efforts to combat Cholera globally. I congratulate the team at Bharat Biotech, our partners for developing this novel vaccine and thankful to the CDSCO, Government of India, and WHO Geneva, for their regulatory guidance and support.”

Bharat Biotech, executive Dr Krishna Ella, said while announcing the launch of HILLCHOL.

The Global Task Force on Cholera Control (GTFCC) has set a goal of reducing cholera-related deaths by 90pc by 2030, alongside improvements in water and sanitation infrastructure.

The launch of the HILLCHOL vaccine is the result of extensive international collaboration involving Hilleman Laboratories, Bharat Biotech, the University of Gothenburg and Gotovax AB.

Cholera continues to pose a significant public health challenge, especially in regions with inadequate sanitation. The spread of cholera is primarily attributed to the faecal contamination of water and food supplies, a problem exacerbated by natural disasters and among people living in crowded conditions with insufficient access to clean water.

Bharat Biotech (BBIL) is a biotech company in Genome Valley, Hyderabad, India. BBIL is a global leader with 145 patents, 20 vaccines and bio-therapeutics, and registrations in 125 countries.