Novartis gets Wellcome grant for typhoid vacc

Swiss drug major Novartis has been awarded a grant from the Wellcome Trust to develop a bivalent vaccine for typhoid fever, a disease that  affects more than 21 million people worldwide every year.

The 5.15 million-euro ($7.2 million) grant will fund preclinical  development and Phase I and II studies for a vaccine that protects  against both Salmonella typhi and Salmonella paratyphi A - two very  similar illnesses which, if left untreated, can result in complications  and death.

The currently-available vaccines for S. typhi do not protect infants and  young children. S. paratyphi A is a growing problem causing 25-50% of  all typhoid cases. Novartis chief exe-cutive Daniel Vasella said: "the  bivalent vaccine being developed by the Novartis Vaccine Institute for  Global Health will use a novel approach to increase efficacy and the  needs of patient that other vaccines have not. This will ultimately have  the potential to eradicate this disease."