Novartis to develop typhoid fever vaccine

Novartis Vaccines Institute for Global Health (NVGH) has received a grant of 5.15 million euros (4.45 million pounds) to develop a bivalent vaccine for typhoid fever.

The finance, which was awarded by the Wellcome Trust, will go towards funding clinical studies for a protection against S Typhi and S Paratyphi A ? two illnesses which can lead to death if left untreated.

Currently, there is no vaccine on the market that protects young children or infants from the disease and Dr Daniel Vasella, Novartis’ chairman and chief executive officer, noted typhoid fever is a serious global health problem ? especially in the developing world.

He explained: “The bivalent vaccine being developed by NVGH will use a novel approach to increase efficacy and address the needs of patients that other vaccines have not.

“This will ultimately have the potential to eradicate this disease.”

It is hoped a product will be available for clinical investigations by the end of 2010.

Last month, Novartis entered an agreement with Takeda to distribute its Vaxem-Hib vaccine in Japan.

The product is intended to protect against infection caused by Haemophilus influenzae type B.