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Serbia is the second country in Europe to receive delivery of vaccines against corona produced by the companies “Pfizer” and “Biontek”, which means that after Great Britain, and before the EU countries, it will begin to vaccinate the citizens against covid 19, emphasized tonight Dr. Bojan Trkulja, director of the Association of Manufacturers of Innovative Medicines Inovia.
Vaccination will begin with a limited number of vaccines, but they will arrive continuously every week during 2021 (weekly installments of 10,000-15,000 doses), which will allow the immunization of priority groups and those most affected by the pandemic in a period of relatively short time. Trkulja pointed out in the online press conference that Serbia has signed an agreement that guarantees 1.8 million doses of vaccine in the next year, and that thanks to that, some 900,000 citizens will receive the vaccine. In order to be protected and to obtain immunity, it is necessary to vaccinate some four million inhabitants of Serbia.
– These amounts may increase if the state expresses the need for it. That addition could only be expected from the third quarter of 2021. 350,000 doses are expected in the first quarter. It should be noted that the state has also signed agreements with the Russian Gamaleya Institute for the procurement of the “Sputnik” vaccine, as well as for the procurement of Chinese vaccines. It should not be forgotten that the company “Johnson and Johnson” will have the results of the third phase of tests, so it is possible that their vaccine will be available early next year, and it is expected that in the first quarter of 2012 they will receive a license for the vaccine they are developing. together Astra Zeneca and the University of Oxford. All of these are possibilities to enter into contracts for additional quantities of vaccines. The epidemic can be suppressed by vaccinating 60% of the population, says Dr. Trkulja.
When asked what happened to the corona vaccine that Sanofi and GSK are working on together, Dr. Samir Atar, director of Sanofi in Serbia, said that this vaccine will be ready only in the second half of 2021, because the results are later. Other phases of the study showed that the immune response after its administration was not strong enough in the elderly population.
-In people up to 59 years old, the immune response is strong enough. The company decided to move on to the next phase of the examination, phase two B – added Dr. Atar.
Despite all the logistical challenges, stability in the supply of innovative therapies to our country has been maintained, and that task will remain a priority, says Dr. Trkulja. At the same time, innovative companies, supported by researchers around the world, are making great efforts to develop safe and effective vaccines, drugs and tests against kovid 19.
– This pandemic, terrible as it may be, has demonstrated the importance of innovations in medicine. It was also recognized that health should be a priority. A well-established healthcare system can allow the economy to function well, says Dr. Trkulja.
The support of innovative companies and their employees was reflected in donations of money, medicines, protective equipment, medical devices, technical support to health institutions, organization of transport, computer support, assistance to patient associations, but also volunteering of doctors and pharmacists employed in pharmaceutical companies.
– Despite large investments in infrastructure, improvement of the material status of health workers, additional employment, testing, medical and protective equipment, investment in innovative drugs must continue, because due to the reduction in access to medical care due to the pandemic, the needs of chronic patients will be even greater. – says Dr. Trkulja.
This year, five billion dinars were planned for innovative drugs, and before the start of the pandemic, 16 new drugs worth about 2.7 billion dinars were added to the list. State representatives, Trkulja says, provided assurances that the rest of the planned money (2.3 billion dinars) will be transferred to 2021 and will be added to the 3.5 billion dinars planned for the entry of innovative drugs.
– We do not expect that next year there will be some reductions in terms of funding for innovative medicines. It is also very important that patients are included in the process of putting drugs on the positive list, either through the expert commissions of the republic or through various bodies of the Ministry of Health and the RHIF. We have a lot of experience when it comes to patient cooperation with the state in the field of rare disease treatment – adds Dr. Trkulja.
The Inovia Association values the current cooperation with the RHIF and other institutions of the system as excellent and hopes that during 2021 new measures will be taken to increase the access of patients to the most effective therapies. The planned introduction of new model special treaties should facilitate this process.
Trkulja emphasizes that they hope that in 2021 a new Medicines Law will finally be approved, which will allow the complete harmonization of our legislation with EU directives and thus contribute to greater competitiveness, acceleration of registration procedures and prices of medicines, as well as improvements in the evaluation and entry of medications. on the drug list.
Inovija’s Ana Govedarica emphasized that there are no delays in the supply of medicines in the Serbian market and that they are fighting for the medicines that are registered and not on the positive list to be available. He added that the problem is that if someone suspects the existence of cancer, they simply do not know who to turn to for help in this pandemic situation. Perhaps most dangerously, cancers will be found in the later stages of the disease, because screening programs for early cancer detection are not organized now.
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