“R.itemList.length” “- this.config.text.ariaShown
“This.config.text.ariaFermé”
By Raul Cortes and Daina Beth Solomon
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Production of 400 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine for Latin America could begin early next year, an executive of the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca Plc said Thursday, as the number of coronavirus deaths in the region increased to just around 230,000.
In partnership with the governments of Mexico and Argentina, AstraZeneca plans to first produce 150 million doses and, in all likelihood, manufacture at least 400 million doses for distribution in the region, said Sylvia Varela, director of AstraZeneca Mexico.
Home to some 650 million people, Latin America has recorded the number of coronavirus cases and deaths worldwide, with Brazil and Mexico behind only the United States in record death tolls.
“We will prioritize vulnerable populations,” Varela said at the Mexican representative’s daily press conference, stressing that the price, not yet definitive, deserves not to exceed $4 in line with the dose. This can hold the top 150 million doses to $600 million.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador praised the agreement as “good news” for Mexico, and said the vaccine will be distributed loosely in the country, which ranks third in the world death toll.
López Obrador said he expected the country to suffer the pandemic when the vaccine enters production.
Argentina’s president on Wednesday signaled the agreement with Mexico and AstraZeneca, Britain’s second-largest drug manufacturer, and noted that the initial materials are expected to succeed throughout Latin America, Brazil.
Earlier this month, Brazil committed $355 million to produce the AstraZeneca vaccine.
The Mexico-Argentina plan, whose position is unclear, receives investment from the base of Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim. A spokesman refused to give a sum.
Varela said phase III testing in the US, South Africa, England and Brazil is expected to be completed in November or December, after which the company will seek approvals.
If granted, the company would move the generation to the INSUD organization in Argentina and Liomont Laboratories in Mexico at the end of the year, and would begin production in the first quarter of 2021, he said.
The active substance of the vaccine would be manufactured in Argentina and Mexico for distribution, Varela said.
(Report through Raul Cortes and Daina Beth Solomon; edited through Dave Graham, Steve Orlofsky and Jonathan Oatis)