The Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) sent a letter to the presidency of AstraZeneca in Brazil offering the company the use of the 100% national vaccine, with the raw material and production entirely made in the Bio-Manguinhos laboratory. In the document obtained by CNNthe president of Fiocruz, Nísia Trindade Lima, informs the pharmacist that the country’s production capacity is already higher than the number of doses contracted by the Ministry of Health.
The contract signed between Fiocruz and the Ministry of Health provides for the delivery of 120 million doses of vaccines made by the Bio-Manguinhos laboratory. There are 60 million with national active pharmaceutical ingredient (IFA) and another 60 million with the raw material already imported.
As it already has the capacity to fulfill the contract, Fiocruz sent, on February 10, a letter to Carlos Sánchez-Luis, president of AstraZeneca in Brazil, suggesting that the vaccine be incorporated in the distribution to other countries or used in initiatives of the Organization World Health Organization (WHO) of dose distribution, such as the Covax Facility consortium.
Fiocruz asked for a quick response to be able to make “industrial and regulatory” issues viable, but still has not received a response, 12 days after the letter was sent. When contacted, AstraZeneca informed that “it is evaluating Fiocruz’s proposal at a global level”.
This Tuesday (22) the first batch of Fiocruz vaccines 100% made in the country will be launched at the Ministry of Health, after a technology transfer agreement with AstraZeneca.
Source: CNN Brasil
