Rna messenger. this the system used by the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, the one that is proving to be the bearer of fewer risks. Hence the possibility of reconverting the production of the Italian vaccine at the head of Reithera in Castel Romano, south of Rome. The biotech with a hundred employees has developed a viral vector vaccine but could combine the classic one with a messenger RNA serum, even if there is currently no direct confirmation. Of course, it takes time to develop this new product line – 8-10 months – and investments to add to the 12 million already mobilized by the group.. Invitalia – the National Agency for the Attraction of Investments of the Ministry of Economic Development – has approved the development contract presented by Reithera which finances an industrial and research investment of 81 million euros.
The possible investment
A large part of the investment (69.3 million) will be allocated to research and development activities for the validation and production of the anti-Covid vaccine. The remaining amount (11.7 million) will be used to expand the Castel Romano plant where the whey will be produced. The concessions granted, in compliance with the rules on state aid, amount to approximately 49 million euros: 41.2 million non-repayable and 7.8 million in subsidized loans. In addition, Invitalia will acquire a 27% stake in the company’s capital, following an increase in the capital of Reithera. Now it is to be understood whether these funds will be diverted to the production of a different vaccine or if other resources will be added in parallel.
The productions in Italy
In Italy, Novartis can also produce vaccines in Torre Annunziata, in the province of Naples. Also a messenger RNA vaccine?
The Swiss multinational with a turnover of 49 billion dollars and 126,000 employees is currently silent. Certainly, however, the American Thermo Fisher in Monza is limited to the filling of the Pfizer vaccine. In the Italian way to an anti Covid vaccine there is also Takis, another biotech, in Castel Romano like Reithera. Currently the Takis vaccine is in phase 1. But even here the technology used is not the one, now more sought after, of the messenger RNA.