Conacyt “presumes” that Vaccina Patria was created in record time

2023-05-04 18:00:41

• The Patria vaccine is intramuscular and there are clinical trials showing potential for a nasal version.
• According to the Conacyt director, it was created at a lower cost and in record time, compared to other parts of the world, generating savings for the people of Mexico of up to 88 percent on their investment.
• The last stage to be applied among Mexicans is to receive approval from Cofepris, but it is expected to happen in September.

Yesterday we announced a piece of news of great national relevance. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador confirmed the completion of all the clinical phases of the Vaccina Patria. It is the first created and developed by Mexico against Covid-19. The objective is to offer a new protection alternative for the population of the country.

According to the general director of the National Council of Science and Technology (Conacyt), Maria Elena Álvarez-Buylla Roces, immunization was shown to be safe, immunogenic, and efficacious. Although so far the percentage of effectiveness it offers has not been specified.

Now, although the biologic has already completed its clinical trials, a very important step is still missing. This is the authorization by the Federal Commission for the Protection of Sanitary Risks (Cofepris). In case of obtaining a favorable response, the production of the doses that are necessary for its application in general will be carried out.

All the tests that have been passed

The Patria vaccine against COVID-19 is the result of a strategic alliance between the Mexican government, through the National Council, and the Avi-Mex, SA de CV Laboratory (Avimex), which has favorably passed the preclinical phase; phase 1 that was shown to be safe in humans; phase 2R, which proved that the vaccine generates antibodies in humans; as well as the final phase, with data to demonstrate that it is effective as a reinforcement in humans to protect against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

According to Álvarez-Buylla, immunization meets the criteria established by the World Health Organization (WHO) for booster vaccines against COVID-19.

#Communication | Conacyt confirms successful completion of the clinical phases of the Mexican Patria vaccine against COVID-19. ➡️ https://t.co/I1Wz3lVUan pic.twitter.com/Vh7NcwTLBb

– Conacyt Mexico (@Conacyt_MX) May 4, 2023

He also highlighted that it was possible thanks to the conjunction of capacities of clinical research sites and organizations. Among the main ones are National Institute of Respiratory Diseases “Ismael Cossío Villegas” (INER), the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS), the National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition “Salvador Zubirán” (INCMNSZ), and Cofepris, as well as the Mexican company Avimex .

He added that, once the final stage of clinical development of the homeland vaccineit will be possible in the future to have production plants, which are in the process of regulatory authorization by Cofepris, “to have enough vaccines and, in addition, to have the base, not only for this already approved booster vaccine, but also for other vaccines.

When will the Homeland Vaccine be available?

Once the production plants are enabled, in close coordination between the new Conacyt and Cofepris, with the highest monitoring and surveillance standards, it is estimated that, as of September they will be ready to produce up to two million vaccines per month.

He specified that the time for the development of Patria and the cost “was very good compared to other parts of the world,” which generates savings for the people of Mexico of around 88 percent, compared to the average development cost of other vaccines like Moderna, Pfizer, Sinopharm y AstraZeneca.

The development cost of the Patria Mexican vaccine against COVID-19, which is the one with the least investment in the world so far, has been 973 million pesos. While Moderna, for example, reached 19 billion pesos, and Pfizer 16 billion pesos.

Finally, the head of the new Conacyt mentioned that there are serious studies that support the safety of this platform, which can be used in other possible pandemic diseases. For now, the tested vaccine is intramuscular, and there are clinical trials showing potential for a nasal version.

Also read:

Mexico makes history: Vaccina Patria is ready and will be applied as a booster

From Mexico to the world: Vaccina Patria advances to the final stage of clinical development

Mexican vaccine ‘Patria’ will be ready in December but first it needs volunteers