Serum Institute of India and Eveliqure Biotechnologies have entered a strategic collaboration to develop and commercialize ShigETEC, a novel oral vaccine targeting Shigella and ETEC diarrhoeal infections in children worldwide.
Written By: Sana Khan BPharm
Reviewed By: Pharmacally Editorial Team
Eveliqure Biotechnologies GmbH, a clinical-stage biotechnology company based in Austria focused on vaccines against Shigella and enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), has entered into a strategic collaboration and licence agreement with Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd. (SII), a Cyrus Poonawalla Group company and the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer. The partnership aims to develop, manufacture, and commercialize next-generation anti-diarrhoeal vaccines targeting two major global bacterial pathogens responsible for severe childhood diarrhoea.
Dr. Umesh Shaligram, Executive Director at Serum Institute of India, said the partnership brings together Eveliqure’s innovation and SII’s expertise in large-scale vaccine development and supply to help expand access to effective vaccines for children in high-risk regions.
Under the agreement, SII will obtain non-exclusive global rights to ShigETEC, Eveliqure’s proprietary oral live attenuated vaccine program designed to provide protection against both Shigella and ETEC infections in paediatric populations.
SII will lead the clinical development, manufacturing, and global commercialization of the vaccine candidate, while Eveliqure will receive an upfront payment, milestone payments tied to development, regulatory and commercial achievements, and royalties on future net sales. Eveliqure will retain rights to traveller and military markets and remains free to pursue additional partnerships in these segments.
Diarrhoeal diseases remain a leading cause of illness and death worldwide, particularly among children under five in low- and middle-income countries. Despite improvements in sanitation and healthcare, there are currently no licensed vaccines targeting the two most common bacterial causes of diarrhoea, Shigella and ETEC. Together, these pathogens are estimated to cause roughly 200 million diarrhoeal cases annually in young children and contribute significantly to mortality and long-term developmental impacts such as stunting. The growing spread of multidrug-resistant Shigella strains has further highlighted the urgent need for effective preventive vaccines.
ShigETEC is engineered from an attenuated Shigella strain that lacks the ability to invade intestinal epithelial cells, removing a key virulence factor responsible for shigellosis. The vaccine candidate is designed to generate broad immune protection by deleting highly variable surface sugar antigens while simultaneously expressing ETEC toxoid antigens to stimulate antibodies capable of neutralizing diarrhoeagenic toxins.
Clinical development of the candidate is ongoing. A Phase 1a study in European adults (NCT05409196) demonstrated acceptable tolerability and immunogenicity, enabling progression to paediatric development. A Phase 1b trial in Bangladesh (NCT05987488), which evaluated tolerability, dosing and immune responses across several paediatric age groups including infants aged 6–11 months, has recently completed with data analysis underway. In parallel, a Phase 2b controlled human infection model (CHIM) study (NCT07049159) is currently being conducted in healthy adults in the United States and is expected to report results in 2026.
Dr. Gábor Somogyi, Chief Executive Officer of Eveliqure, said the collaboration supports the company’s goal of delivering impactful vaccines to populations that need them most, particularly children living in endemic regions.
Dr. Eszter Nagy, President of Eveliqure, noted that combining the company’s vaccine platform with SII’s global development and manufacturing capabilities could accelerate the availability of new vaccines to reduce the burden of diarrhoeal diseases worldwide.
The ongoing Phase 2b CHIM study is being conducted at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and is funded by the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Earlier paediatric studies were carried out in collaboration with icddr’ b in Dhaka. The broader vaccine development program has also received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme through the SHIGETECVAX consortium.
Reference
Eveliqure and Serum Institute of India Announce Strategic Collaboration on the Development of Anti-Diarrhoeal Vaccines, 20 March 2026, https://www.seruminstitute.com/Eveliqure_and_Serum_Institute_of_India_Announce_Strategic_Collaboration_on_the_Development_of_Anti-Diarrhoeal_Vaccines.php
About the Writer
Sana Jamil Khan is a B.Pharm graduate with a strong interest in medical writing and scientific communication. Her work focuses on interpreting clinical research, exploring developments in pharmaceutical science, and presenting complex medical information in a clear and accessible manner. She is particularly interested in topics related to human clinical studies, drug safety observations, and emerging therapeutic research.