Sanofi-Aventis, Navy to test traveler’s diarrhea vaccine
Paul Tinder
VaccineNewsDaily.com
04/16/2010
NEW YORK — French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis said April 12 that it will work with the U.S. Naval Medical Research Center to develop and test a vaccine for traveler’s diarrhea, The Associated Press reported.
The Navy licensed a potential vaccine to the Sanofi Pasteur division. The research center and Sanofi Pasteur will work together on preclinical trials for the next four years, and if those studies are successful, they will begin testing the vaccine on humans.
The vaccine is intended to prevent enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli.
Sanofi-Aventis said ETEC is the most common cause of bacterial diarrhea, causing about 210 million cases a year. It also kills about 400,000 children each year in the developing world, and causes problems for travelers and deployed military personnel.