Torlak out of the game and for the vaccine production service – Economy

The number of companies that have manufactured vaccines against kovid 19 is growing by the day, and Serbia, according to the information available so far, announced by President Aleksandar Vučić, reserved 1.8 million doses of vaccine two weeks ago, part of the which of the American company Pfizer. and part through the Covac global vaccine procurement system.

According to the president, Serbia will try to get “at least one million doses” of vaccines before the end of the year, which will be delivered to medical personnel first, and which vaccines will be purchased at any price.

The Russian research center Gamalej announced a few days ago that its vaccine against COVID-19 was successful in 95% of cases.

The day before, encouraging news came from the University of Oxford, announcing that by the end of next year, in cooperation with Astra Zeneca, it could produce up to three billion doses of the vaccine, which would cost just three to four dollars per dose.

The Oxford scientists said their vaccine showed a 70 percent success rate, but could be expected to reach 90 percent.

Previously, the Moderna pharmaceutical company announced that its vaccine was effective in 94% of cases and its price would be between $ 32 and $ 37 per dose.

The news came a week after Pfizer and Bayontek announced that their kovid 19 vaccine was roughly similar in a study of more than 43,000 people over the summer.

This vaccine would cost $ 20, while the one advertised by Johnson and Johnson would be half as cheap: $ 10.

We did not know from the Ministry of Health exactly how much Serbia ordered of the vaccine from which producers at this time, nor how much money was allocated for that in the budget for this and next year.

The latest information announced by the President of Serbia is “that they provided 1.8 million doses, most likely Pfizer vaccines for this and next year.”

The first doses of vaccines, Vučić announced two weeks ago, would be available in Serbia at the end of December, and according to his statement two days ago, it is a contingent of at least one million doses.

A few days before Vučić’s first statement, Prime Minister Ana Brnabić said that the contract with Pfizer had been signed, but that there was also the possibility of providing an additional two million doses.

Competition for the supply of vaccines is already fierce, which is why some of the economically strongest and largest countries have bought enough vaccines in advance for their entire population.

Others, such as India and Brazil, where there are manufacturing plants or participating in clinical trials, have provided a sufficient number of doses based on this, while others will find it more difficult to deliver.

Serbia also used to have a modern Torlak institute, which produced vaccines, but experts point out that the situation in this institution is such that it cannot produce much simpler and better-established vaccines, and not some of the vaccines for kovid-19.

Perhaps, what the situation is is demonstrated by the fact that Torlak did not even answer our questions about their ability to possibly start production of the covid vaccine under the license of some of the world’s pharmaceutical companies.

“There is no time for something like this, because this technology transfer takes time, it is necessary to have capacity at the country level, everything is a process that requires a lot of time and technology. “What Torlak could do is repackage or refill someone’s vaccine, but that’s also a problem because their capabilities are limited, and this is a mass vaccination,” public health consultant Dragoslav Popovic told Danas.

As he adds, Torlak also owes us flu shots for this year.

“It’s a 50-year-old technology, which Torlak has been using for the last 20 or 30 years, so we were late and now we are in a pandemic situation, where time is of the essence,” Popovic says.

This expert advises not to “run and react every time a new vaccine appears” because more will appear in the coming weeks.

It explains the price differences that we have heard so far with different technologies, but also the fact that the private sector, which has invested a lot, wants something in return.

That’s the reason why, as he says, all manufacturers are pulling potential buyers on their sleeves.

“However, the good thing is what Kovaks is doing, which opened a global tender on November 12, which should put order in terms of prices.” Some of the producers will surely correct the prices because it is a huge customer, which reaches more than two billion doses “, says our interlocutor.

Popovic reminds that the difference between vaccines, and therefore prices, is that each one comes out as a separate product and that each new technology has its price.

“The vaccine announced by Astra Zeneka and Oxford is similar to the Russian vaccine, both are based on relatively well-known technology and should be affordable vaccines. Those based on a weakened virus as well. On the other hand, products such as the Fajzer and Moderna vaccines appear for the first time, something with which we have nothing to compare ”, emphasizes Popović.

The Pfizer and Modern vaccines, he notes, require very cold storage conditions during distribution (especially Pfizer) and cost money.

Popovic also reminds that many world-famous and large pharmaceutical companies have yet to announce that they have a vaccine, but that they sure will in the next few weeks, and that this is one of the reasons why you should not rush to buy.

“The global priority is what Kovaks promised, and that is that at the end of the first quarter of next year three percent of the population of each country will be vaccinated, where medical care, social services and those that help the patients ”. Then, after that, another 17% of the population would be vaccinated, those over 65, those with chronic diseases, groups in danger of extinction, ”says our interlocutor.

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