Latest: Coronavirus in Spain figures (23 Apr)
HIPRA, a pharmaceutical company based in Amer, Girona (Catalonia), is planning to hold clinical trials of a vaccine it has developed against Covid-19 in June this year, and then produce 400 million doses in 2022.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited the premises of HIPRA on Friday, where he saw first-hand the progress in the research for the vaccine being carried out by a Spanish multinational – one of the most advanced in its development in Spain.
Sánchez described the visit as ‘inspirational’ and underlined that the government will continue to offer its full support in the hope of obtaining a Spanish vaccine against Covid-19.
Research and innovation, he said, were the keys to overcoming the pandemic and that Spain was showing its capabilities in these areas. Sánchez also stressed the importance of public-private alliances and of collaboration between all tiers of government in the fight against the pandemic.
Spain has several lines of research developing projects to create a vaccine against Covid-19, among which HIPRA stands out as one of the most promising, together with the CSIC research teams headed up by Luis Enjuanes and Mariano Esteban.
The HIPRA project is backed by the Spanish Medicines and Health Products Agency (AEMPS), as well as by the Ministries of Health and of Science and Innovation.
In his visit to the pharmaceutical company, Sánchez was accompanied by the Health Minister, Carolina Darias, and by the Minister for Science and Innovation, Pedro Duque, as well as the Catalan Health Minister, Alba Vergés.
The HIPRA vaccine can be conserved at between 2 and 8ºC, thus facilitating the logistical process. If the clinical trials prove successful, production will begin in October, with the aim of commercialising the vaccine at the end of 2021, subject to obtaining the competent authorisations. According to HIPRA’s current projections, 400 million doses will be produced in 2022. By 2023, this could amount to 1.2 billion doses.
Figures up to Friday 16 April showed that Spain has received 13,703,085 doses of Covid-19 vaccines and that 12,330,755 jabs have been administered. 3,328,701 people have now received a second jab, representing 7% of the population. The age group with the greatest vaccination cover is those over the age of 80, of which 97% have now received at least one dose.
Sánchez also reiterated on Friday that between April and September this year, Spain should receive 87 million doses to ensure that vaccinations are available for all citizens.
In a separate report, we publish the amount of vaccines received and administered for each region in Spain: Covid-19 Vaccinations in Spain
Click here for all previous reports on: Coronavirus in Spain
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