Bharat Biotech successfully launches an oral cholera vaccine
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Hyderabad: Vaccine maker Bharat Biotech International Ltd announced the launch of a novel single-strain oral cholera vaccine, Hillchol, on Tuesday. Hillchol (BBV131) was developed by Bharat Biotech under licence from Hilleman Laboratories (funded by Merck USA and Wellcome Trust) to combat Cholera, the company said via a press release, reports PTI.
Global demand for Oral Cholera Vaccines (OCVs) exceeds 100 million doses annually, making them crucial for cholera control. Globally, there is a shortage of OCVs as there is only one manufacturer.
BBIL has established large-scale manufacturing facilities in Hyderabad and Bhubaneswar with a capacity to produce up to 200 million doses of Hillchol, it further said.
A multi-stage, clinical evolution process, culminating in a Phase 3 study, confirmed the vaccine safety, immunogenicity and non-inferiority to existing OCVs, establishing its potential for white spirit and public health use.
The vaccine, a single dose result, is administered orally on days 0 and 14 and is suitable for individuals older than one year.
However, in the news in June, a patent filing omitted ICMR’s name and credited Bharat Biotech alone for the development of the Covid-19 vaccine ‘Covaxin’.
Public records state that the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) collaborated to develop Covaxin, the country's first locally produced coronavirus vaccine. The two institutions shared intellectual property (IP) rights for the vaccine.
Filing by BBIL at US, European, and Indian patent offices, however, implies that the vaccine's "inventors" are just its scientists and staff—ICMR scientists are not mentioned, the Hindu reported.