GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) agreed to form a joint venture in India to produce a six-in-one vaccine that will immunize children in developing countries against infectious diseases including polio.

GSK said Monday it will form a 50-50 venture with India’s Biological E Ltd. to develop a product that would combine Glaxo’s injectable polio shot with a vaccine produced by Biological E that protects against five diseases including diphtheria and tetanus, the companies said.

“The JV will bear the development costs for the candidate vaccine, which is expected to enter phase 1 development in the next two years,” GSK said. “A small initial cash investment will be made by both companies to cover start-up costs for the JV and subsequent development costs will be split equally.”

Specific financials were not disclosed.

“We are delighted to be working with Biological E., an established company in the global vaccine market,” said Christophe Weber, president of GSK vaccines. “This agreement is fully aligned to GSK’s vision of providing high quality vaccines to those in need and by leveraging Biological E’s strengths, this particular vaccine has the potential to be play a significant role in the fight against polio.”

Boosting vaccine production in India will help Glaxo gain market share as smaller Indian rivals like billionaire Cyrus Poonawalla’s Serum Institute of India Ltd. make inroads by selling low-priced shots for developing countries. Poonawalla said this month he is being urged to offer the injectable polio vaccine at a third to a quarter of its current price.

Glaxo and Paris-based Sanofi are the largest suppliers of injectable polio vaccine, which is used in most developed countries to protect children against crippling poliomyelitis.

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine-making unit of France’s largest drugmaker, already has an Indian vaccine unit, Hyderabad-based Shantha Biotechnics Pvt.

Shantha’s Shan6 inoculation will be an “affordable answer” to six diseases including polio, said Olivier Charmeil, president and chief executive officer of Sanofi Pasteur, said Jan. 17.

The JV will bear the development costs for the candidate vaccine, which is expected to enter phase 1 development in the next two years. A small initial cash investment will be made by both companies to cover start-up costs for the JV and subsequent development costs will be split equally. Christophe Weber, President of GSK Vaccines said “We are delighted to be working with Biological E., an established company in the global vaccine market. This agreement is fully aligned to GSK’s vision of providing high quality vaccines to those in need and by leveraging Biological E’s strengths, this particular vaccine has the potential to be play a significant role in the fight against polio.”

GSK operates its North American headquarters in RTP.

[GSK ARCHIVE: Check out 10 years of GSK stories as reported in WRAL Tech Wire.]

(Bloomberg contributed to this report.)