This meeting was notable for the high number of participants. Dr. Sergey Kraevoy, Deputy Minister of Health of Russia and Dr. Vladimir Uiba, Head of the Russian Federal Medical-Biological Agency arrived in Nicaragua. On the part of the Institute of Vaccines and Serums participated Director of IICVSSP Dr. Victor Trukhin, Deputy Director of IICVSSP Dr. Anatoly Evtushenko.
"To a great extent this Technical Committee is also distinguished by the fact that representatives of the Russian regulator took part in the meeting: Dr. Vadim Merkulov from the Scientific Center, which carries out tests of medicinal products of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Vladislav Shestakov from the State Institute of Medicines and Good Practices. It is very important and useful for more dynamic and sustainable development of the MECHNIKOV project in the region" - Said Dr. Stanislav Uiba - General Manager of the Latin American Institute of Biotechnology MECHNIKOV.
The Committee monitors the current status and progress of technology transfer for the production of immunobiological and biological preparations from the Russian Federation to the Republic of Nicaragua. The delegates positively assessed the current status, confirmed the fulfillment of the previously announced plan of realization of the MECHNIKOV project. Also during the meeting of the Committee they discussed the use of the MECHNIKOV production plant as an additional center for professional practice and recruitment of specialists. At the moment IICVSSP together with UNAN-MANAGUA and specialists of MECHNIKOV are carrying out a pilot project of a training camp for teenagers in the field of preparation of personnel reserve.
Tour of the plant
The production plant of MECHNIKOVDuring the Committee the delegates visited the production plant of the Latin American Institute of Biotechnology MECHNIKOV, where they got acquainted with the process of filling and packaging of influenza vaccine. After the tour of the plant Deputy Minister of Health of Russia Dr. Sergey Kraevoy said: "This plant can produce up to 30 million doses of vaccine annually", in the future it is planned to expand the line of medicines. In her turn, Dr. Socorro Gross Galiano - WHO/PAHO Representative in Nicaragua - drew the audience's attention to the great potential of MECHNIKOV: "We consider it a very important project, and it is also oriented towards the Sustainable Development Goals, which is access to universal coverage of vaccines and quality medicines".
"This project is important not only for Nicaragua, but for the whole region... Nicaragua is the first country in Central America that will have its own production of high quality vaccines," added Dr. Gross Galiano.
About the Russian-Nicaraguan Technical Advisory Committee
In February 2015, during the negotiations in Managua, Republic of Nicaragua, a Technical Advisory Committee was formed for the issues of technology transfer in the field of health care. The Committee consists of representatives of interested institutions of both countries, as well as representatives of WHO/PAHO and CECMED as a regional regulatory body, added by PAHO.