Russian influenza vaccine Grippol Plus localised in Belarus
It is the first time in history that a Russian vaccine manufacturing project has been implemented in Belarus. Locally produced anti-flu vaccine Grippol Plus will become available for public sale in Belarus as early as by the end of this year.
In 2015, NPO Petrovax Pharm, the Belarusian Ministry of Health and Belmedpreparaty signed a strategic agreement to localise production of Grippol Plus in the Republic of Belarus. The first phase of the agreement has been completed, including production technology transfer, secondary packaging for the medicine, production site licensing, and packaging of the first commercial batches.
Transfer of full-cycle production technologies within the second stage of the project is scheduled to commence in October. Starting next year, Grippol Plus will be fully manufactured at Belmedpreparaty's production facilities.
Over three million Grippol Plus doses shipped to Belarus in 2015 under a government contract were an important milestone for our long-term partnership. As a reminder, Petrovax Pharm was selected as the sole supplier of anti-flu vaccines to Belarus over the 2015–2016 epidemic season (as part of the National Immunisation Schedule), duly completing all the shipments by mid-October.
Apart from the manufacturing and engineering components, the project provides for R&D and educational programmes for practicing physicians. On 30 September, the Belarusian Ministry of Health sponsored an event called "Epidemiology and Preventive Influenza Vaccination. Cohort Study on the Application of Polymer-Subunit Vaccines", a nationwide R&D conference in Minsk attended by both Russian and Belarusian experts and over 100 practical healthcare specialists, including paediatricians, physicians, infectious disease doctors and epidemiologists.
Elena Arkhangelskaya, President of NPO Petrovax Pharm, said: "The joint project with Belarus is a long-term mutually beneficial strategic partnership opening up new opportunities for all the parties involved. For a while now Russian pharmaceutical companies have been mastering localisation processes to produce advanced medical products offered by international corporations, but we also have something to share with other nations, and this is definitely an achievement we are proud of. Our company leverages unique competencies in immunobiology pioneering both foreign vaccine production localisation and export-oriented production projects in Russia. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our Belarusian counterparts for cooperation that will result in Belarusians getting access to locally produced high-quality and effective anti-flu vaccine as early as next year."
About Grippol® Plus
Grippol® Plus is a Russian latest-generation adjuvanted subunit preservative-free inactivated influenza vaccine used for flu prevention in adults and children, including babies starting from 6 months of age, pregnant women, and people with chronic somatic diseases. The composition of the vaccine for use in the upcoming influenza season is changed annually as per WHO recommendations. It is made at a modern production facility in compliance with Russian and international GMP standards. Due to its strong efficacy, high quality and safety profile, the Grippol Plus vaccine is exported to a number of CIS countries. Apart from Belarus, Grippol Plus is registered for use in Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, and Ukraine. In the short-term, the Company plans to license the vaccine for sale in Uzbekistan, with the next step being a foray into EU, Middle East, and Latin America markets.
About NPO Petrovax Pharm
NPO Petrovax Pharm is a Russian pharmaceutical company that develops and produces innovative medicines and vaccines. The main activities of the company include: the production of influenza and pneumococcal vaccines for the National Immunisation Schedule, development and production of immunobiological medicines. The company operates in the Moscow Region in full compliance with international standards of GMP EU and ISO 9001 and employs over 600 people. NPO Petrovax Pharm's majority shareholder is a company of Vladimir Potanin, owner and founder of Interros Group.
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