MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

CanSino eyes Argentina for local production of covid-19 vax

A delegation from the Cansino laboratory has held meetings in Buenos Aires with Health Minister Carla Vizzotti and other officials to discuss local production of their COVID-19 vaccine, it was reported Tuesday.

“We are looking at options, exploring possibilities and seeking potential partners to be able to carry out this possibility of producing the anti-COVID-19 vaccine in Argentina,” Cansino Biologics co-founder and CEO Xuefeng Yu told reporters.

He added Cansino was also interested in “exploring other possibilities” beyond the SARS-CoV-2 drug. The company also aims at supplying other Latin American countries, in addition to Argentina.

“It is very important to carry out an integral approach in all areas with the Ministries of Health, Science and Productive Development,” Vizzotti explained. “That is why this issue is very important for us,” she added.

Vizzotti then admitted meetings with her colleagues Daniel Filmus and Matías Kulfas, ministers of Science and Productive Development respectively “to address a permanent work table with the objective of incorporating this issue and establishing each one's roles.”

The Health Minister also highlighted that “the pandemic has transformed the crisis into an opportunity and this roundtable is a sign that we are taking advantage of that opportunity” to think about “strategies beyond COVID-19.”

In addition to Xuefeng Yu, CanSino was represented by Pierre Morgon, vice president of supranational affairs; Chunlin Xin, director of the depaetment of new technologies; Hongyi Wang, vice president of international business; and Mariana Durán, manager of business alliances in Latin America.