Global supply of oral cholera vaccine to double after WHO approves new supplier

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that supply for life-saving oral cholera vaccine will double this year. Two manufacturers currently supply 3 million doses of the vaccine but the U.N. agency said that supply should increase to 6 million doses this year and will have further increases later following the approval of a new vaccine producer. South Korean company EuBiologics is the latest to get WHO’s approval under the agency’s pre-qualification program that helps guarantee the safety, quality and efficacy of drugs and vaccines. The additional capacity is aimed at helping nations combat outbreaks of the deadly disease. “This additional capacity will contribute to reversing a vicious cycle of low demand, low production, high price and inequitable distribution, to a virtuous cycle of increased demand, increased production, reduced price and greater equity of access,” the WHOsaid in a statement. Stephen Martin, from WHO’s Emergency Vaccines and Stockpiles Division, hailed this development as good news....