Hilleman Labs signs MoU to fast track development of high-impact oral cholera vaccine

Hilleman Laboratories, an equal joint-venture partnership between US pharma major Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) and the Wellcome Trust, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bangladesh-based icddr,b (formerly the International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh), an international public health research organization, and Bangladesh-based Incepta Vaccine in a bid to fast track the clinical trials and product licensing and commercialization of the product.

Under the terms of reference of the MoU, Hilleman will provide its expertise in the further development, which will include the process, formulation and preclinical development of the vaccine. icddr,b will provide expertise with respect to clinical development and studies of the vaccine candidate and Incepta will support the development program in the area of process development, scale-up and current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) manufacturing for pre-clinical and clinical studies.

“This collaboration will allow the three organizations to work together and bring forward a cheap effective cholera vaccine to meet the needs of the developing world,” said Davinder Gill, chief executive of Hilleman Laboratories.