Hilleman Labs in pact with NICED to develop diarrhoeal vaccine

Hilleman Laboratories today signed a pact with National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED) for further development and commercialisation of Shigella and other vaccines for diarrhoeal diseases.
Commenting on the signing of Memorandum of Understanding, Hilleman Laboratories CEO Davinder Gill said: "We are pleased at this opportunity to collaborate with NICED and jointly develop Shigella vaccine for a disease whose basic pathology is not yet properly understood.
Shigella is the second most fatal organism after rotavirus that causes severe diarrhoea in children with no approved vaccine available at this time, he added.
"This will also be a strategic shift for Hilleman, since till now, our focus has been to optimise existing vaccines and address the gaps in low resource settings," Gill said.

The association with Hilleman Labs is in alignment with NICED's mission to identify enteric infections, initiate appropriate multi-disciplinary research and develop strategies for treatment, control and prevention of enteric infections, NICED Director Shanta Dutta said.
Till now, Shigella infection was treated with antibiotics and currently there is no vaccine to prevent shigellosis, she added.

Shigellosis is one of the leading causes of death and casualties among children worldwide below five years of age with bloody diarrhoea, especially, in low income developing countries of Africa and South Asia.
Hilleman Laboratories is a joint-venture between pharma firm MSD and Wellcome Trust, a global charitable foundation. NICED is an ICMR organisation.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is the apex body in India for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research.