Shantha Biotechnics cholera vaccine, Shanchol achieves 10 million doses milestone

Hyderabad: Shantha Biotechnics, the Hyderabad-based affiliate of Sanofi Pasteur (the vaccines division of Sanofi), said it has delivered 10 million doses of its cholera vaccine, Shanchol.

The vaccine received the World Health Organization (WHO) pre-qualification in 2011 and since then, the product has been shipped to 25 countries across the world.

"We estimate that the 10 million doses of Shanchol could potentially have saved close to five million people - especially those living in high-risk, endemic areas - from cholera," Sanofi India Managing Director Shailesh Ayyangar said.

"There were many occasions when the time to deliver the vaccines was very short. In October 2016, the WHO asked Shantha Biotechnics to deliver 510,000 doses of Shanchol to Iraq. The Ministry of Health in Iraq wanted to launch a major vaccination campaign to combat a cholera outbreak situation. This was the single biggest shipment of cholera vaccine which Shantha delivered within 11 days," said Shantha Biotechnics Executive Director and COO Mahesh Bhalgat.