The Silicon Review ^Asia

The first ever vaccine for Shigella, an intestinal disease has been licensed by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on April 23 this year. The license agreement was carried out by India Limited (BCIL), a Biotech Consortium with NICED on behalf of Hilleman laboratories and ICMR.

The licensed vaccine was given to MSD Wellcome Trust Hilleman Laboratories Pvt Ltd for further scaling up and commercialisation.

The new breakthrough was carried out ICMR-National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED). The new vaccine for Shigella was created in the form of heat-treated/formalin killed vaccines. Apart from that, another next-gen vaccine such as OmpA nano-formulation and OMVs (Outer Membrane Vesicles) is also being created to control the spread the Shigella infection.

The bodies involved in the creation of the licensed vaccine candidate are ICMR, Japan’s Okayama University and National Institute of Infectious Diseases. The translation of the licensed vaccine candidate will go through a stringent pre-clinical and clinical development before hitting the market for use.

The Shigella vaccine which has high potential should help the children hailing from low and mid-income families.

The new development is the first ever vaccine produced to treat Shigella. Currently, the world wide treatment for the disease is being treated through antibiotics; therefore, the major concern on antibiotic resistance and global emergence makes the new vaccine the only solution for the disease.

The new development is a big achievement for ICMR.