Mexico aims to have the anti-covid vaccine under development known as ‘Patria’ approved for emergency use by the end of this year, a senior official said on Tuesday.
Maria Elena Alvarez-Buylla, head of the National Council of Science and Technology (Conacyt), told a regular news conference that the agency is working on the vaccine known as “Patria” in collaboration with the Avimex company.
The Avimex company is a private laboratory, founded in 1952, dedicated mainly to the research, development, manufacture, import, export and commercialization of biological products, pharmaceuticals, disinfectants and mycotoxin detoxifiers for animal health.
According to the information provided by the authorities involved, the vaccine has been made in an alliance in which UNAM, the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and the University of Texas. The National Institute of Public Health and the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) have been involved in the scientific development of ‘Patria.’
The anti-coronavirus vaccine has already successfully passed preclinical tests in animals and is ready to begin clinical trials in humans.
The phase 1 trial is now in the recruitment stage. For this, the participation of between 90 and 100 volunteers from Mexico City will be requested. Those who offer to participate in this study will be asked to prove that they are in good health. In addition, participants must be between 18 and 55 years of age.
Alvarez-Buylla commented that they expect to have the results of the phase 1 trial by May. She added that, if all of the subsequent trials are successful, the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (Cofepris) is expected to approve the Patria vaccine for emergency use by November or December of this year.
During the press conference, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador added that Mexico’s ‘Patria’ vaccine will have a low cost and will be shared with other countries.
Source: conacyt.gob.mx