Agreement will boost development of new vaccine candidate

SANTIAGO DE CUBA, Cuba, Oct 2 (ACN) Cuba’s Finlay Vaccine Institute (IFV) and the General Division of Health in the province of Santiago de Cuba signed a cooperation agreement to evaluate the immunogenicity, safety and effectiveness of an 11-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine candidate for children developed in the country.

Meiby Rodríguez, IFV’s director of Clinical Research and Impact Assessment, highlighted the importance of having this new product registered and included in the National Immunization Program and made reference to further studies on invasive and non-invasive pneumococcal disease in children below the age of two before they get the vaccine.

The provinces of Santiago de Cuba, Havana and Cienfuegos are included in the IFV’s Sentinel Surveillance Network, so their involvement in the clinical trials is scientifically strategic considering their population density and their results with every research program.

A successful development of the new studies and the registration of the 11-valent vaccine candidate as an effective medicine against pneumococcal disease will stand as an improvement of the Cuban immunization system for children and an alternative to the purchase of the medicine in foreign markets.