COVID-19: Argentina and Cuba advance in next bilateral collaboration in vaccine production

The Minister of Health of Argentina, Carla Vizzotti, and the presidential adviser, Cecilia Nicolini, visited the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB) and the facilities of the pharmaceutical company BioCubaFarma, during their first day of visit to Cuba. There, they gathered information on the progress of the island’s vaccine candidates against COVID-19 Abdala and Soberana 02, with a view to potential bilateral collaboration in the production of these formulas.

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This was confirmed this Friday by the Cuban President, Miguel Díaz-Canel, through his Twitter account where he showed the visit of the Argentine delegation, which visited the CIGB and the state group of companies in the biopharmaceutical industry, BioCubaFarma . President Alberto Fernández’s advisor Cecilia Nicolini and Minister of Health Carla Vizzotti, visiting Cuba, met our vaccine candidates. Latin America united against COVID19“Diaz-Canel wrote.

In this context, Vizzotti and Cecilia Nicolini met Cuban scientists to learn more about Abdala and Soberana 02, the two most advanced vaccine projects of the five that Cuba is developing against COVID-19. “We are already in Havana with Cecilia Nicolini to learn from Cuban health authorities and researchers on the progress in the development of the Abdala and Soberana vaccines.“, Wrote the minister on Twitter.

As it happened, Argentinian executive expressed interest in Cuban vaccine candidates and also by a drug for nasal use with supposed preventive properties. In this context, El Uncover learned that scientific teams and producers are progressing in the exchange of information between the Argentinian regulatory body ANMAT and CECMED evaluating Cuban vaccines in phase III, their progress and details related to production. and dates.

Cuban vaccines Soberana 02 and Abdala

Inoculations Sovereign 02 and Abdala concluded this month the administration phase to volunteers -44,010 and 48,000 respectively- who participate in the third and final phase of clinical trials, during which the effectiveness of the drug is measured, the safety of which has already been demonstrated in previous phases.

As, the official certification of the State Control Center for Drugs, Equipment and Medical Devices is expected (Cedmed), is applied as part of an intervention study in high-risk areas of Cuba with more than one million volunteers. Cuba is developing five candidate anti-ovidic vaccines –Soberana 01, 02 and Plus–, by scientists at the Finlay Vaccine Institute; and Abdala and Mambisa, at the Center and Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology.

Collaboration between Cuba and Argentina

Within this framework, the governments of Cuba and Argentina are in “permanent dialogue” to lead a potential collaboration in the trials, production and financing of Cuban vaccine candidates. “Our country awaits the completion of the talks at the presidential level with the aim, once they are concluded, to be able to accelerate the possible agreement.“, Assured the Minister of Foreign Affairs Felipe Solá at the end of April.

It should be recalled that on May 6, Vizzotti and Nicolini held a virtual meeting with the Minister of Public Health of Cuba, José Ángel Portal, and other representatives of the Cuban government and scientific sector, to exchange information on the development of COVID-19 vaccines, the first designed and produced in Latin America for the region, highlighted the official website of the Argentine government. During the virtual meeting, theCuban referees reported on progress made in the evaluation of safety and immunogenicity in the development of the Soberana 02 and Abdala vaccines, in their respective test phases.

Senior Argentinian officials arrived in Havana from Mexico, where they also managed the vaccine supply for their country. “We believe in the integration of our America and in the value of the solidarity-based exchange of experiences and concrete actions that promote the well-being of peoples. We have a common history and working for everyone’s health also unites us, ”Vizzotti wrote on Twitter.