French drugs group Sanofi-Aventis announced on Thursday its intention to team up with Danish laboratory Statens Serum Institut (SSI) and develop a new vaccine against tuberculosis.

“The current medical arsenal is inadequate for fighting tuberculosis. Sanofi Pasteur and SSI are joining forces to develop a vaccine that may have a major impact on global health by preventing a disease that currently infects one person in the world every second,” Wayne Pisano, head of Sanofi’s vaccines division, said in a statement, according to Reuters.

Financial details were not revealed, but Pisano called the deal “a milestone for Sanofi Pasteur,” that is also working to develop a vaccine against another one of the biggest global infectious disease killers, malaria.

“SSI is one of the world's leading producers of BCG and has for more than a century worked within the field of prevention and control of TB. We are excited to team up our research with one of the world's largest vaccine manufacturers. The combination of both parties' leading vaccine expertise will really be able to make a difference in the development of a novel TB vaccine for the benefit of the world's poorest people,” said SSI’s CEO, Nils Strandberg Pederson, M.D.

If development is successful, Sanofi Pasteur would manufacture the vaccine commercially.

The only vaccine against tuberculosis used in the world today was developed 80 years ago. BCG (Bacille Calmette Guerin) is effective in protecting infants against childhood forms of the disease, but a more effective vaccine is needed for protection of adolescents and adults against pulmonary tuberculosis.

More than 8 million people develop active tuberculosis annually, and approximately 2 million die from the disease each year. Most tuberculosis cases occur in Southeast Asia and Africa, with the highest incidence in sub-Saharan Africa.

According to the World Health Organization, there are more than 14 million people living with tuberculosis. People with active tuberculosis who receive no treatment can infect an average of 10 to 15 people annually.