Against the backdrop of mounting concern over the increase in the covid-19 infection rate in the hemisphere the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has announced the selection of two institutions in Argentina and Brazil to serve as regional hubs for the development and production of vaccines in Latin America in a bid to roll back the mounting threat which the malady poses.
Beyond COVID-19 PAHO says that the move to better equip the hemisphere also looks ahead to the potential threat that might be posed by future infectious disease challenges.
PAHO’s selection choices have tapped the Bio-Manguinhos Institute of Technology on Immunobiologicals at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ) in Brazil and the Sinergium Biotech, a private sector biopharmaceutical company in Argentina as the two regional centres for envisaged vaccine production.
A September 22 Caribbean News Now media release says that the Bio-Manguihos Institute in Brazil has “a long tradition in vaccine manufacturing and has made promising advances in the development of an innovative mRNA vaccine against COVID-19.” It adds that Sinergium Biotech, the Argentinian private sector biopharmaceutical company will partner with pharmaceutical mAbxience, which belongs to the same group, to develop and manufacture active vaccine ingredients. “The two companies have extensive experience in the production and development of vaccines and biotechnological medicines,” the release says.
The disclosure was made during a PAHO forum that brought together Health Ministers and representatives from countries in the region to discuss the issue of vaccine production. A statement emanating from the forum said that the decision was driven “by the conviction that this endeavor will result in timely and equitable access to vaccines in our region, which continues to be the hardest hit by this pandemic.”
The selection of the two regional institutions, the Caribbean News Now release says, derives from a call by the World Health Organization,(WHO) earlier this year, for Expressions of Interest, inviting manufacturers and research institutions to contribute to the establishment of COVID-19 mRNA vaccine technology transfer hubs in emerging economies. The call attracted some thirty expressions of interest from Latin American companies and scientific institutions.
In order to ensure sustainability and increased regional capacity even further, PAHO launched a further call for Expressions of Interest in August. This second call, the release said “was particularly aimed at manufacturers that wish to become part of a regional consortium to supply pharmaceutical grade reagents and other inputs for mRNA vaccine production.”
PAHO, meanwhile, recently launched the Regional Platform to Advance the Manufacturing of COVID-19 Vaccines and other Health Technologies in the Americas which, the release says, will “support collaboration across countries and agencies to apply existing regional bio-manufacturing capacity to the production of COVID-19 vaccines and other medical technologies.” “The principle behind the platform is that pharmaceutical manufacturers should benefit the entire region, with regional production and distribution of vaccines by PAHO’s Revolving Fund to all countries,” the release adds.
Setting aside what is believed to be the significant overstocking of covid-19 vaccines by developed countries PAHO Director Dr. Carissa F. Etienne has been quoted as saying that “delays in production have meant that many countries [in the region] are still awaiting the doses they purchased months ago………This limited production and unequal distribution of vaccines in the face of staggering demand hinder our COVID response in the Americas. Mass vaccination is critical,” the PAHO Head is quoted as saying.
Latin America and the Caribbean is one of the poor regions that have had to shoulder much of burden of COVID-19 infections up to this time with 87.6 million cases recorded and over 2.16 million lives lost. Vaccine distribution, meanwhile, continues to be unequal, with few countries in the region reaching the 40% COVID-19 vaccine target set out by WHO,” the Caribbean News Now report says.
Image Link: Dr. Carissa Etienne
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