Zydus Cadila ties up with Takeda Pharmaceuticals for chikungunya vaccine
Zydus Cadila, a global healthcare provider, and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, one of the world´s
largest pharmaceutical companies, announced a partnership to develop
vaccine for chikungunya, an emerging infectious disease.
The broad-based agreement includes early stage development to the final commercialization
of the vaccine against chickungunya. There is currently no vaccine to prevent
or medicine to treat this virus infection.
“By partnering with Takeda on this
very important research and development initiative and leveraging our
development capabilities, we will be taking an all important step to prevent
the disease burden which is highly prevalent in developing countries and causes
suffering and disability,” said Pankaj R. Patel, Chairman
and Managing Director, Zydus group.
Chikungunya has been identified in over 60 countries in Asia, Africa,
Europe and the US.
“Our belief is that chikungunya
can be prevented by vaccines, and that a vaccine might be licensed more quickly
if we can accelerate development with this Zydus partnership,” said Dr. Rahul
Singhvi, Takeda Vaccines Chief Operating Officer.
Since 2005, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar and Thailand have
reported over 1.9 million cases and almost 1.3 million suspected cases of
Chikungunya being recorded in the Caribbean islands, Latin American countries,
and the United States of America till 2015.
The chikungunya virus is most often spread to people by Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, the same vectors that spread dengue
and zika.
After the bite of an infected mosquito, illness occurs usually between 4
and 8 days but can range from 2 to 12 days. In some people, the joint pain may
persist for months.
The most common symptoms of chikungunya virus infection are fever and
joint pain. Other symptoms may include headache, muscle pain, joint swelling,
or rash. Outbreaks have occurred in countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the
Indian and Pacific Oceans. In late 2013, chikungunya virus was found for the
first time in the Americas on islands in the Caribbean.
People at risk for severe indications include newborns infected around
the time of birth, older adults (>65 years), and people with medical
conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or heart disease.
Terms of the agreement are not disclosed, but it is expected that this
partnership will boost access to medicines in the future through this novel
partnership.
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