Zydus Cadila partners with Japan's Takeda for chikungunya vaccine

Global healthcare provider Zydus Cadila on Tuesday announced its partnership with Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd to develop vaccine for chikungunya.

The broad-based agreement between the healthcare provider and Japanese company includes early stage development to the final commercialisation of the vaccine.

Chikungunya has been identified in over 60 countries so far. India along with Thailand, Indonesia, Maldives and Myanmar have reported 1.9 million cases of this infectious disease since 2005.

"There is currently no vaccine to prevent or medicine to treat chikungunya virus infection," Zydus Cadila's group firm Cadila Healthcare said.

"By partnering with Takeda on this very important research and development initiative and leveraging our development capabilities, we will be taking an all important step to prevent the disease burden," said Pankaj R Patel, Chairman and MD, Zydus Group.

Cadila Healthcare said terms of the agreement are not disclosed, but it is expected that this partnership will boost access to medicines in the future through this novel partnership.

"Takeda is the center of important vaccine related activities in global health and emerging infectious diseases.

This is another demonstration of Takeda's major commitment to the health of children in developing countries and elsewhere around the world," said Rahul Singhvi Chief Operating Officer, Takeda Vaccines.