The Sputnik news website (headquartered in Moscow) has broken the news of the transfer of Russian technology as the next huge step towards manufacturing a Covid-19 vaccine here at the Mechnikov Institute of Biotechnology in Managua, Nicaragua.
In a pre-VI International Pharmaceutical Congress announcement, Viktor Trukhin, from the Serum and Vaccine Institute of Saint Petersburg announced that Russia will “transfer technology for one of its COVID-19 vaccines to Nicaragua”.
The actual announcement will no doubt be made at the upcoming congress in Managua which has the theme of “The world after the pandemic.”
Trukhin announced that within the framework of the VI International Pharmaceutical Congress (to be held in Managua on October 20th and 21st) “a representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) will give a presentation focused on the transfer of the Russian technology”.
Trukhin noted that the Méchnikov facility in Managua, which opened in 2016, is a big player in the Latin American pharmaceutical sector and has already gained significant experience in the manufacture of an influenza vaccine.
The Russia/Nicaragua agreement to explore a modern high-tech facility to develop and manufacture immunobiological products was signed in April 2014.
In February 2015 the binational company was established and construction of the Méchnikov Latin American Institute of Biotechnology began on the outskirts of Managua in the following December. In October 2016 the commissioning and certification phase began and the lab was production ready in December 2016.
Although a Nicaraguan company manages the plant, the St. Petersburg Institute for Scientific Vaccine Research has made a huge investment in equipment, technology transfer and staff training.
The Mechnikov Institute began commercial production of the first influenza vaccine in April, 2019. The plant can manufacture hundreds of thousands of doses per day of much needed medicines to Latin American countries.
NOTE: On the 20th of October, the Government of Nicaragua announced that it will be the vaccine CoviVac that will be manufactured at the Mechnikov Institute.
Note: Sputnik News is not related to the Sputnik vaccines.
