HYDERABAD: Bharat Biotech on Monday announced that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has awarded prequalification to its rotavirus vaccine, Rotavac 5D to prevent rotavirus diarrhoea, a press release from the company said.
The new variant of Rotavac, Rotavac 5D, is a unique rotavirus vaccine formulation that can be administered without a buffer and its low dose volume (0.5 mL) facilitates easy vaccine logistics, cold chain management and low biomedical waste disposal post-vaccination, it said.
The vaccine is used for the prevention of rotavirus infection, which is prevalent in infants and young children.
WHO Prequalification enables the procurement of Rotavac 5D by agencies such as UNICEF and PAHO (Pan American Health Organisation) and will fast-track global access to this life-saving vaccine.
Suchitra Ella, Joint Managing Director, Bharat Biotech, said, ROTAVAC and Rotavac 5Dare projects were conceived, innovated and executed in India, in collaboration with Indian and global partners.
"Today's announcement is an important step to further strengthen and fulfil Bharat Biotech's vision to address neglected diseases and prevent infections that continue to affect millions in the developing world," she said.
Bharat Biotech developed the first generation, rotavirus vaccine, Rotavac under a Public-Private Partnership with the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India and 16 other international partners, making it the largest ever social innovation project for public health.