Bharat Biotech Ltd. (BBL) has said that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has pre-qualified its typhoid conjugate vaccine. The new vaccine was found to have given a longer immunity from typhoid than older vaccines and it required fewer doses for childhood immunisation.
A senior executive of the Hyderabad-based vaccine maker said, When we started this project, typhoid fever was a neglected tropical disease. The development of this conjugate vaccine has taken 14 years but it has proved to be effective. The recognition by WHO paves the way to move it in the market.
Bharat Biotech, which spent about Rs 150 crore, has received $40 million in grants from various universities.
The highest burden of typhoid is due to salmonella typhi. It has been found in the clinical trials that the use of the vaccine could help in curbing the frequent use of antibiotics for treatment of presumed typhoid fever.