The Cholera Vaccine War! Balarat Produces 200 Million Doses Per Year vs. South Korea's EuBiologics, Africa May Be the Key Battlefield, Who Will Fill the 40 Million Dose Gap?

Bharat Biotechnology Ltd. has announced that its oral cholera vaccine has successfully completed late-stage clinical trials and plans to roll it out worldwide. The target annual capacity of the vaccine is 200 million doses. India's drug regulator has approved the vaccine for marketing, and the company is currently applying for pre-approval from the World Health Organization to supply it to international organizations such as UNICEF.

The vaccine will face competition from a similar product from South Korea's EuBiologics. Bharat plans to prioritize aid to areas of Africa hit hard by cholera outbreaks and seek to partner with other producers to produce. The Hyderabad plant will start vaccine production with an initial annual capacity of 45 million doses, and the company is awaiting approval from another plant to further increase total production.

According to the World Health Organization, global demand for oral cholera vaccines is double the current production capacity. Bharat plans to fill the annual supply gap of 40 million doses with its Hillchol vaccine.