Zydus to Develop World's First Shigella-Typhoid Combo Vaccine for Children

5 Mar 2025 , 09:17 PM

On 4 March 2025, Zydus Lifesciences Ltd said it will work on the world-first combination vaccine to protect infants and children against shigellosis and typhoid. Expected to launch in March 2025, the collaborative effort is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, demonstrating a continued global commitment to innovation in public health.

Zydus will develop the vaccine with a research partner, which will use both Zydus’ WHO pre-qualified typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV) and its partner’s shigella vaccine.

This new vaccine provides protection from shigellosis which is a debilitating diarrheal disease caused by the Shigella bacteria in addition to typhoid fever caused by the Salmonella bacterium and it is especially prevalent in the developing world.

Sharvil Patel, Managing Director of Zydus Lifesciences, underlined the company’s aim to address unmet medical requirements through safe and affordable vaccines that add significant value for public health in the long run.

“Both diseases continue to have a devastating impact around the world and with this combination vaccine, we are hoping to provide widespread protection for children under five years of age, in areas of the world where both diseases are still endemic,” Sarah C. Gilbert, from the University of Oxford, told Xinhua.

This will leverage India’s proven capabilities in science and innovation, and bring India closer to the world in contributing to global child health, M Hari Menon, Country Director of the Gates Foundation said.

Zydus has achieved a major breakthrough in global immunization efforts with the development of its game-changing vaccine that enhances protection against potentially fatal bacterial infections in children.