NEW DELHI: Japanese pharmaceutical giant Takeda Pharmaceutical has entered into a partnership with Ahmedabad-based ZydusBSE 0.14 % Cadila to develop the first ever vaccine to tackle Chikungunya, an emerging infectious disease. The agreement will see the companies working together on the early-stage development of the vaccine to its final commercialisation.

The companies did not disclose the terms of the agreement.

The chikungunya virus is most often spread to people by the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes — the same vectors that spread dengue and zika.

Chikungunya has been identified in over 60 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. Since 2005, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, and Thailand have reported over 1.9 million cases.

There is currently no vaccine to prevent or medicine to treat chikungunya.

Takeda and Zydus have an existing 50:50 JV in India to manufacture intermediates for anti-ulcer drug pantoprazole. "Our belief is that chikungunya can be prevented by vaccines and that a vaccine might be licensed more quickly if we can accelerate development with this Zydus partnership," said Takeda Vaccines' chief operating officer Rahul Singhvi.

"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 which is highly prevalent in developing countries and causes suffering and disability," said Pankaj R Patel, Chairman and Managing Director, Zydus group.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the most common symptoms of chikungunya virus infections are fever and joint pain. Other symptoms may include a headache, muscle pain, joint swelling, or rash.

Shares of Cadila HealthcareBSE 0.33 % rose 1.54 percent on Tuesday to close at Rs 393.05 on the Bombay Stock Exchange, where the benchmark Sensex ended 0.39 percent lower.