S. Korean cholera vaccine wins Indian licensing deal

SEOUL, April 20 (Yonhap) -- A low-cost oral cholera vaccine will be produced
under licence in India and sold worldwide to help protect thousands from the
deadly disease, a Seoul-based global research and development institute said
Monday.
The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) said the decision will pave the way
towards wider use of the low-cost drug in developing countries.
"The licensure of the vaccine in India, where national regulatory authority is
approved by the World Health Organization, paves the way for a wider use of the
vaccine in cholera-endemic populations in Asia and elsewhere," said IVI head John
Clemens.
He added that the institute, set up under the auspices of the United Nations
Development Program in 1997, welcomed the news that Shantha Biotechs will produce
the vaccine. The company has a strong record of supplying high-quality vaccines
to UN agencies such as the United Nations Children's Fund.
Cholera remains an important health problem in the developing world, with 4,031
deaths being reported in 53 countries in 2007.
Of the 177,963 reported cases in the cited year, 94 percent were in Africa. Most
experts speculate the death rate and number of cases is actually much higher.
Despite recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2001, there
is no country that has introduced cholera vaccines into their immunization
program.
IVI said that its scientists are conducting large-scale "phase III" trials in
urban slum areas in India to determine the efficacy of the drug in
cholera-endemic populations.
The study, which began in July 2006, enrolled 67,000 individuals with initial
results confirming substantial protection for children aged 1-5 years.
The institute is the world's only international research organization devoted
exclusively to developing and introducing new and improved vaccines to protect
the world's poorest people. It operates under a treaty signed with 40 countries
and the WHO.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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