Bharat Biotech joins hands with BioFabri to develop, distribute a new TB vaccine MTBVAC

Source: AP (Representative Image)

Hyderabad based Bharat Biotech, on March 16, announced a partnership with Spanish biopharmaceutical company BioFabri to develop, manufacture and distribute a novel tuberculosis vaccine, MTBVAC.

The partnership is aimed at supplying TB vaccines in more than 70 countries especially in Southeast Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa with a high TB incidence.

The phase 3 clinical trials to assess the safety and efficacy of the vaccine candidate in a large number of individuals is set to begin soon.

The vaccine is being manufactured and developed by BioFabri in close collaboration with the University of Zaragoza, Spain, IAVI- a US-based non-profit scientific research organization and the Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative (TBVI).

MTBVAC has been designed and discovered by Carlos Martín team of the University of Zaragoza.

Bharat Biotech said in a statement that the agreement between the company and BioFabri would guarantee the worldwide production and the supply of the future vaccine in more than 70 countries with a high TB incidence.

Also read: Tuberculosis deaths on the rise again globally due to COVID-19: WHO

The development is particularly important for India which has the highest TB burden in the world, with a 25 per cent of all cases. The country also records the highest TB deaths every year.

MTBVAC, a live attenuated vaccine, has been touted as one of the most promising vaccine candidates in the current global TB vaccine pipeline.

The only currently available TB vaccine, the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccine (BCG), was developed 100 years ago and has limited efficacy in preventing pulmonary TB in adults, who, along with adolescents, are the biggest spreaders of the disease.

TB infects more than 20 per cent of the global population and is the second leading cause of deaths from infectious disease after COVID-19.

It is a highly contagious disease where vaccines are the best solution to prevent disease, reduce transmission and combat multi drug resistant strains.

“We are proud to announce this partnership with BioFabri, where MTBVAC can become a global TB vaccine. Bharat Biotech has opted for this vaccine candidate owing to its advanced stage of clinical development as well as the extremely promising results from Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials,”said  Krishna Ella, chairman and managing director Bharat Biotech.

Esteban Rodríguez, Biofabri CEO said that the contract signed with Bharat Biotech will ensure that the vaccine reaches countries such as India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Pakistan and South Africa, among others, where TB is a public health problem due to its high incidence.

Also read: Lupin, TB Alliance join hands for new therapy for drug-resistant Tuberculosis

TB has been the leading cause of death from infectious diseases in the world, with an average annual death toll of 14 lakh people, 10 percent of whom are minors.

The appearance of COVID-19, however, put the brakes on years of progress in the response to this disease, costing additional lives and increasing the global urgency of the epidemic.

The Stop TB Partnership estimates that an additional 14 lakh TB deaths will occur over the next four years due to the halt in developments stemming from COVID-19.

Drug-resistant and multidrug-resistant TB is becoming a growing problem as its treatment is arduous, expensive and not always successful but the vaccine candidate offers hope against these forms of TB too.