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PaxVax’s Vaxchora™ Now Available as the Only U.S. Approved Vaccine for Protection Against Cholera

Monday, October 24, 2016

REDWOOD CITY, CA – October 24, 2016 – PaxVax, Inc. announced that Vaxchora is now available in the United States (U.S.) as the country’s only vaccine for protection against cholera, a highly contagious intestinal diarrheal infection that can cause death in less than 24 hours if left untreated.1

Vaxchora, a single-dose vaccine, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in June 2016 for use in U.S. adults traveling to cholera-affected areas as an active immunization against disease caused by Vibrio cholerae serogroup O1. Also in June 2016, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted unanimously to recommend Vaxchora for travelers to areas of active cholera transmission.

Estimated to be widespread in 69 countries, primarily in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean, cholera is acquired by ingesting contaminated water or food. Annually, millions of people around the world are impacted by this extremely infectious disease.A recent report from the CDC suggests that the true number of cholera cases in the U.S. is at least 30 times higher than observed by national surveillance systems.3 Non-vaccine intervention to prevent cholera infection is the avoidance of contaminated water and food, but studies have shown that 98 percent of travelers do not comply with these precautions when travelling.4

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