The decision of both executives was made official through the signing of a cooperation agreement between the Ministry of Public Health (MSP) and the pharmaceutical company of the Asian giant Sinovac.
Both instances will work together in the production of biologicals, through three fundamental axes: conducting clinical trials in Ecuador, strengthening and technical, scientific and technological transfer, as well as training processes and transmission of knowledge.
“Ecuador has been prioritized for the construction of a vaccine factory against Covid-19 and others from the regular vaccination table. Today we ratify the commitment to mutual collaboration”, assured the head of the MSP, Ximena Garzón, during the signing ceremony of the agreement.
In this regard, he explained that the initiative will become a comprehensive plan for the scientific evolution of this Andean territory.
On the national side, the document was signed by Garzón, Lorena Konanz (Subrogate Minister of Production, Foreign Trade, Investments and Fisheries) and Roberto Salas (Technical Secretary of Public-Private Associations).
On the Chinese side, the subscribers were Gao Qiang, General Manager of Sinovac and Jack Tang, Operations Manager for Latin America of the pharmaceutical company.
As detailed by the state portfolio in a bulletin, prior to the signing, a high-level intersectoral meeting was held, in which representatives of the MSP, the Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, Investments and Fisheries, the Technical Secretariat of Public Associations Private and the company Sinovac.
That meeting served to establish agreements regarding financing, investment and deadlines based on the proposal presented by the pharmaceutical company.
Likewise, Ecuador formalized a cooperation roadmap with Sinovac and assured the commitment for its development.
The construction of the plant will take at least a year and a half and production is expected to start in 2024.
Initially the vaccines will be for national consumption, but later the idea is to be able to supply them to the rest of the region.
msm/scm
