Shanchol: Dismay as key cholera vaccine is discontinued
Source: The Guardian
Dismay as key cholera vaccine is discontinued
Exclusive: halt to production of Shanchol vaccine alarms WHO amid ‘unprecedented’ global outbreaks
Lizzy Davies
Fri 14 Oct 2022 06.00 BST
Last modified on Fri 14 Oct 2022 09.31 BST
The manufacturer of one of only two cholera vaccines for use in humanitarian emergencies is to halt production at the end of this year, just as the world faces an “unprecedented” series of deadly outbreaks, the Guardian has learned.
Shantha Biotechnics, a wholly owned Indian subsidiary of the French pharmaceutical company Sanofi, will stop production of its Shanchol vaccine within months and cease supply by the end of 2023, causing alarm among health officials.
Philippe Barboza, the World Health Organization’s team lead for cholera, said Shantha’s move to halt production had come despite repeated appeals from the WHO’s director general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“To say the least, it’s a very disappointing strategy,” Barboza said.
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The spokesperson said: “We took this decision in a context where we were already producing very small volumes versus the total demand for cholera vaccines and in the knowledge that other cholera vaccine manufacturers (current and new entrants) had already announced an increased supply capacity in the years to come.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/oct/14/who-dismay-key-oral-cholera-vaccine-shanchol-discontinued-amid-unprecedented-global-outbreaks