Havana: The President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, visited the Finlay Vaccine Institute on Friday afternoon, where he received an update on the clinical trials of Soberana 01, the first Cuban vaccine candidate against COVID- 19, Cubadebate publishes.
Dr. Vicente Vérez Bencomo, leader of this hopeful research project and general director of this prestigious scientific institution, assured that progress is being made in the clinical trial of the first two formulations of the vaccine, which already have the second dose applied and have shown a great security.
The work of our team does not stop – he affirmed – and scientific evidence constantly appears that is carefully evaluated.
Based on recent international results from different clinical trials, a very large difference has been seen between the response in animals and in humans, which has led us to design several formulations of the vaccine to be able to evaluate their immune response and decide which will be the optimal to use, he detailed.
During the meeting, Vérez Bencomo commented on the progress made in animals with the application of the vaccine candidate Soberana 2, which will allow us to request the Regulatory Authority for Medicines, Equipment and Medical Devices (CECMED) to start their clinical trials during the month October.
The researcher asserted that the work team aspires to advance in the studies regarding the immune response before the end of this year and maintains the purpose of beginning to vaccinate the Cuban population during the first half of 2021. When referring to the safety of our vaccine candidates, he stressed that they are based on vaccine technology platforms that already exist and have been tested in millions of doses.
After applying the second dose of Soberana 01 in 40 volunteers, he pointed out, the “results confirm that the adverse effects are minimal”.
As part of the exchange, the general director of the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB), Eulogio Pimentel Vázquez, made reference to other vaccine candidates that are developed in that distinguished institution of Cuban science.
President Díaz-Canel described as “very encouraging” what has been obtained so far in these projects for life that, even though they require time for their consolidation, ratify the contributions of Cuban science to the confrontation of COVID-19 in the country.
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