The director of the National Council of Science and Technology, María Elena Álvarez-Buylla, at a press conference with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador this Tuesday.Sáshenka Gutiérrez / EFE
Mexico seeks to have its own vaccine against covid-19 ready before the end of the year.
The Government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador has reported this Tuesday that human tests of the Mexican injection against the coronavirus, baptized as Homeland, will begin in April.
Immunization began in March 2020 and is based on a recombinant Newcastle disease paramyxovirus (rNDV), an infection that usually affects birds.
The Mexican Executive, which works in collaboration with the private pharmaceutical company Avimex, has informed the scheme of the phases of the development of immunization for the coming months.
The schedule foresees requesting authorization for its use during the last quarter of 2021.
The pharmaceutical company Avimex is a Mexican company specialized in the development and commercialization of veterinary drugs.
That is why the use of rNDV, used in multiple products for animals, has contributed to the investigation of the Mexican vial.
The company "determined that a recombinant Newcastle disease virus has the potential for success for the covid-19 vaccine, due to the use of this platform in billions of doses of veterinary influenza vaccines" that they already have for sale , the company announced in a statement on Tuesday.
The document also ensures that the safety of the use of this virus in humans is "extensively proven."
The president of Mexico has celebrated Patria's advance with a strong nationalist tone.
"A vaccine with that name means that we must always think that it is convenient for us to be independent, it is not about closing ourselves off in a globalized world, but we must be self-sufficient in the fundamentals, in the basics," he said this Tuesday during his morning conference .
Despite its name, the injection is developed with technology from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in New York, and the HexaPro protein from the University of Texas, at Austin.
"Imagine how much this vaccine is going to mean to us," the president insisted.
"It is no small thing, because now those who produce vaccines decide whether to allow them to leave their territories or not, there are countries that have not allowed it, and this vaccine is for Mexico and other countries."
López Obrador has also ensured that the vial produced in the country will cost less than those purchased so far and will be a "quality" product.
The project to develop immunization was directed by the National Council of Science and Technology (Conacyt) and had a budget of 150 million pesos from public funds.
Phase 1 of the tests, which assesses road safety and its biological effects, will begin in April and end in May.
A hundred people up to 55 years of age will participate and will be called to take part through an open call, as announced by María Elena Álvarez-Buylla, director of Conacyt.
Phase 2, which focuses on effectiveness, is scheduled for June and July.
Phase 3, the last one necessary before requesting approval from the regulator, analyzes in depth the results of its application and is scheduled to take place between August and October.
After that, if the results are positive, the Government will request your authorization.
Bernardo Lozano Dubernard, CEO of Avimex, has recognized "the great responsibility that has fallen" on his team with this project.
"The challenges that come are great and it will be essential to continue with the support of our collaborators and allies to achieve the goal of having a safe and effective vaccine that will allow us to contribute to the country becoming self-sufficient in the sector again," he said. through the statement.
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