Hyderabad: Bharat Biotech’s Typbar TCV, the world’s first clinically proven Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine against typhoid fever has received prequalification from World Health Organisation (WHO). This enables the procurement and supplies of this life-saving vaccine to UNICEF, Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) and GAVI supported countries. Typbar TCV has been evaluated in Human Challenge Studies at Oxford University and typhoid conjugate vaccines have been recommended by WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (WHO-SAGE).
Typbar TCV is the first typhoid vaccine, clinically proven to be administered to children from 6 months of age to adults and confers long term protection against typhoid fever.
International Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) estimates that in 2016, there were approximately 12 million cases of typhoid fever resulting in around 130,000 deaths. Typhoid fever is caused by the bacterium Salmonella Typhi (S. Typhi), which infects humans due to contaminated food and beverages from sewage and other infected humans. Currently a third of the global population is at risk of typhoid fever, which results in reduced school attendance, loss of work and wages, lowered pregnancy outcomes and impaired physical and cognitive development of children. In most developing countries the cost of a course of treatment for typhoid fever ranges from $50 to $5000 for outpatient and inpatient treatments.
Typbar TCV is a result of dedicated product development at Bharat Biotech since 2001, where all aspects of the product profile were studied and evaluated in human clinical trials. With 5 years of follow up data for seroconversion, Typbar TCV at 25µg / dose has proven long term protection for children and adults alike, and can be administered to children from 6 months of age. Bharat Biotech is thankful to Dr John Robbins, who in 1999 trusted the team to deliver the promise of vaccines against typhoid fever.
Enlightening the importance of WHO prequalification for an effective typhoid vaccine that is also safe for infants Dr Krishna Ella, Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Biotech said “Typbar TCV is the first typhoid conjugate vaccine, clinically proven to be administered to children from 6 months of age to adults and confers long term protection against typhoid fever. When we started this project, Typhoid fever was a neglected tropical disease. This success is a true reflection of Team Bharat Biotech’s, ability to develop novel vaccines and sustain long term product development for fighting infectious diseases. It demonstrates the power of global partnerships to achieve novel breakthroughs.”
WHO-SAGE recommended the use of typhoid conjugate vaccines for use in infants between 6 and 23 months of age and catch up vaccinations for children between 2 and 15 years of age. This recommendation paves the way for countries to introduce the vaccine into their immunization programs.