Zydus Lifesciences Ltd. announced its focus on the development of a combination vaccine against shigellosis and typhoid. This combination vaccine, being developed for the first time in the world, underscores India’s innovation capabilities with the potential to provide protection against deadly enteric diseases – Typhoid and Shigella.

Zydus will carry out early-stage development, animal immunogenicity studies and regulatory preclinical toxicology studies for this combination vaccine. The project is expected to get underway in March 2025, and is being supported by the Gates Foundation.

Zydus, a global lifesciences company specialising in novel, affordable and highly impactful vaccines will collaborate with a partner for the research and co-development of a combination vaccine using Zydus' WHO prequalified Typhoid conjugate vaccine (ZyVacTM TCV) and Shigella Vaccine from Zydus' partner.

Vaccination remains the most effective way of preventing and controlling the disease. The TCV-Shigella combination vaccine aims to protect children below 5 years against shigellosis, a diarrhoeal disease caused by the Shigella bacteria and typhoid fever, caused by salmonella bacteria in areas where both the diseases are endemic. This combination of vaccines, if found successful, will safeguard children against two lethal enteric diseases of global relevance and potentially offer a viable solution in a scenario where childhood immunization schedules are becoming increasingly crowded, expensive, and unsustainable.

Speaking on this development, Dr. Sharvil Patel, Managing Director, Zydus Lifesciences Ltd. said, “We welcome this opportunity to collaborate with Gates Foundation and our partner on the development of the TCV Shigella combination vaccine. It marks yet another step towards our ongoing commitment to addressing critical gaps through innovation. By collaborating with key partners and leveraging our research and development capabilities to provide novel solutions, we can bridge unmet needs through high-quality, and affordable vaccines that can create a sustainable impact in global public health.”

M. Hari Menon, Country Director, Gates Foundation, added, “The Gates Foundation has always supported efforts that help save children’s lives. We are excited about supporting this initiative by Zydus, which would leverage India’s science and innovation expertise, and has the potential to contribute significantly to protecting children, not just in India, but also in other parts of the world.”