Hyderabad, Nov. 20 -- Biological E. Limited (BE), a Hyderabad-based vaccine and pharmaceutical company, announced on Thursday that its 14-valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV), PNEUBEVAX 14(R) (BE-PCV-14), has received World Health Organization (WHO) pre-qualification (PQ) status.

PNEUBEVAX 14(R) is BE's 11th vaccine to achieve WHO pre-qualification and is designed to protect infants from invasive pneumococcal diseases caused by 14 different Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes, including serotypes 22F and 33F, which are not covered by certain other PCVs, as per a release.

The vaccine can be administered to infants from six weeks of age as part of the primary immunisation schedule to prevent serious conditions such as pneumonia, men...