Brazil announced its first nationally manufactured vaccine, Butanvac, developed by the state-run Butantán Institute and pending regulatory approval to begin testing on humans immediately, according to Sao Paulo Governor Joao Doria.
“It is a historic announcement to the world. The 100% national vaccine, with promising tests and the result of the work of a 120-year-old institution, the largest vaccine producer in the Southern Hemisphere,” Doria said at a press conference at the headquarters of the state laboratory in Sao Paulo.
Previously, Doria had anticipated the news on his Twitter profile in a video released after the meeting with Butantán Institute director Dimas Covas, which lasted until dawn.
“We have spectacular news, which gives us hope in health, science and life. The result of the work of Butantán scientists over several months of dedication and which we will present to the scientific community of Brazil and internationally,” said Doria.
Covas said in the same video that the development of the pure Brazilian vaccine “is a great contribution and will make a difference in the course of the epidemic, and it will help us fight it around the world.”
The Butantán Institute also packages and develops the production of the Coronavac vaccine, from the Chinese laboratory Sinovac, which handles 90% of the vaccinations in Brazil. The remaining 10% is with the immunizer from the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical AstraZeneca and the British University of Oxford.
The same institution is conducting clinical studies in Brazil, authorized by the regulatory agency, to test a serum made from a virus inactivated by radiation and applied to horses, which produces IgG antibodies and from which the blood has been extracted and purified with a technique that is also used. for decades.
SAME FLU VACCINE TECHNOLOGY
At the press conference this Friday, Covas explained that the “new vaccine” will be developed based on “the same technology” used for the flu immunizer, which has been used by that immune center for decades.
“There is no vaccine produced in embryonic eggs in the world and it will cost much less than the vaccines being used,” said Covas, who indicated that Vietnam and Thailand are also participating in the immunizer consortium, the countries where they will be. . conducted clinical trials in humans.
“Our commitment is to offer this vaccine to low- and middle-income countries, and that’s where we need to fight the pandemic. The pandemic may be under control in North America and Europe, but the virus will continue in countries in Africa, Asia. and Latin America America, ”he added Covas, who did not detail the cost of the project.
Without “interfering” in Coronavac’s process and schedule, Doria stressed, the Butantán Institute “already has a production capacity of 160 million per year, with different types of vaccines, but by May we will be able to produce 40 million of the new and we hope to implement it in the second half of this year. “
“The request to Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency, regulator) will be immediate, with a sense of urgency and respect for millions of Brazilians, and we are also going to send the entire world to the World Health Organization (WHO) today (Friday). guide the process in all its phases, ”emphasizes Doria.
The new immunizer is already considering its effectiveness in the variants of covid-19, such as the Amazon discovered in the South American giant, according to the state lab.
“It is primarily a vaccine for Brazilians, but later we will serve other sister and friendly nations, such as those of the Latin American continent, the two technology allies we have and those who want it,” said Doria.