WHO prequalifies Zydus’s Typhoid Vi Conjugate Vaccine, ZyVac® TCV

New Delhi:  Zydus Lifesciences Limited has received in principle acceptability from World Health Organisation (WHO) for ZyVac^® TCV.

ZyVac^® TCV is now eligible for purchase by United Nations (UN) agencies. ZyVac^® TCV is indigenously developed and manufactured at the Zydus Biotech Park, Ahmedabad.

ZyVac^® TCV is indicated for active immunization against Salmonella typhi infection in the age group of 6 months to 65 years. This prequalification for ZyVac^® TCV makes it eligible to be part of UN agencies procurement programme. Annually over 150 million doses of the typhoid conjugate vaccine have been procured by UN agencies to prevent this infectious disease in geographies where it is most prevalent, such as India, Africa and Southeast Asia.

Typhoid fever is systemic febrile illness caused by ingestion of the bacterium Salmonella enterica serovar typhi (S. typhi) through contaminated water and food. In South Asian region, India alone contributes for 75% of incidence and mortality due to typhoid fever. As per GAVI (2022) it is estimated that Typhoid accounts for an estimated 11 to 21 million cases of febrile illness and 117,000 to 161,000 deaths are attributed to the disease each year. Data reviewed by the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) indicates that a major burden of severe disease occurs in younger age groups where 27% of all typhoid disease occurs in children under five years of age.