The first vaccine of entirely Spanish development against SARS-CoV-2 has been developed in Catalonia. It has been the Girona-based pharmaceutical company Hipra, specialized in veterinary products, the company that has made the most progress in the research of this new vaccine, which is already finishing the preclinical phase and will begin human trials in June at the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona and the Trueta de Girona. If all trials are successfully completed, the goal is to start producing the vials from next October at the factory the group owns in Amer and begin commercialization at the end of 2021, provided it first obtains the relevant authorizations from the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
The Catalan multinational, considered the sixth largest global producer of animal vaccines, plans to produce 400 million doses of this new vaccine during 2022 and, in 2023, could reach 1.2 billion doses, as explained by the company in a statement after receiving this Friday the visit of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez; the Minister of Health, Alba Vergés; the Minister of Health, Carolina Darias; and the Minister of Science and Innovation, Pedro Duque.
Sánchez has been able to learn first-hand about the progress of the research into this proprietary vaccine developed by Hipra, based on a recombinant protein that, according to the company, "has been designed to optimize its safety and induce a powerful neutralizing immune response against the covid-19 virus." It will be stored between 2 and 8ºC, which will facilitate its logistics and distribution. The studies have not yet concluded, but everything seems to indicate that two doses will be needed. "The vaccination strategy contemplates the various vaccination scenarios, effectiveness against different variants and the more than probable and increasingly necessary revaccination dose," points out the Nogareda family group.
In parallel to this first recombinant protein vaccine (which would be the first to be authorized by the EMA), Hipra is also carrying out a line of research in collaboration with the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona for the development of a vaccine against covid-19 based on the messenger RNA of the virus. This second vaccine is also in the preclinical phase.
Hipra is a verticalized group that controls the entire value and production chain, and thanks to its 50 years of experience, it possesses extremely high knowledge that has allowed it to fully develop this anti-coronavirus vaccine and do so more quickly than other projects that are being developed in Spain. In this process, the company has had the support of the Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices (AEMPS), as well as the Ministries of Health, Industry, and Science and Innovation.
"We see in Hipra one of the most hopeful projects. With this visit, I want to convey to you that the Government is going to bet on you. We support you in this hope we have of having a Spanish vaccine throughout 2021," said President Pedro Sánchez.
The company led by David Nogareda claims to be the laboratory that has launched the most innovative and technological vaccines in the last 10 years, with a total of 22 vaccines, all of them destined for animal health. With 39 international subsidiaries and commercial presence in more than one hundred countries, Hipra closed 2020 with a turnover of 319 million euros and this year expects to grow by 13.5%. The group employs more than 2,000 people and dedicates 10% of its annual turnover to research and development of new vaccines. In the R&D area for vaccines, a team of 350 people works.
Although there is currently no anti-coronavirus vaccine based on recombinant protein technology, Hipra is convinced that it will be very effective in the fight against the pandemic and that it will be an additional solution to contribute to global vaccination and the expected annual revaccination process. In animal vaccines, the company manufactures 24 billion doses of this type of vaccine each year.
Investment of 470 million in Aiguaviva
Since 2019, the company has been promoting the Hipra Campus project in Aiguaviva (Girona), which contemplates the expansion of its current facilities into a new complex that will house different production and research units, as well as new business areas of the company on an area of 114,000 square meters that will be added to the 56,000 square meters of the Amer factory. The project will involve an investment of 472 million euros until 2026 and the direct creation of 580 highly qualified jobs.
Hipra's plant in Amer, in the La Selva region, will be the second in Catalonia to produce anti-covid vaccines. The other factory, owned by Reig Jofre, is located in Sant Joan Despí (Barcelona) and is expected to carry out the final packaging phase of the vaccine developed by Janssen, a pharmaceutical subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.