HUNADIA will develop and clinically validate a next-generation oral treatment designed to dramatically reduce cholera-related deaths, shorten hospital stays and ease the burden on overstretched health services.

The consortium is conducting a large, multi-country Phase IIb/III adaptive clinical trial with up to 1,200 hospitalised patients and up to 2,000 community participants across seven countries.

At the heart of the project is VR-AD-1005, a novel oral anti-secretory drug developed by Hunazine Biotech. Unlike current therapies, VR directly targets the mechanism that drives life-threatening diarrhoea in cholera patients.

If effective, VR-AD-1005 could complement vaccination and water, sanitation and hygiene measures, offering a fast, deployable treatment that does not require cold-chain storage and can be stockpiled for emergencies.