The WHO places Fiocruz among the world’s 15 main vaccine manufacturers - Fiotec

The Global Vaccine Market Report for 2022 brings information on the dynamic of the market of immunizers, based on the data supplied by member states of the World Health Organization. According to their data, Fiocruz, by means of its Immunobiological Technology Institute (Bio-Manguinhos), is among the world’s 15 main vaccine manufacturers, together with the Butantan Institute, which is also in the ranking.

According to Nisia Trindade Lima, Fiocruz president, these data emphasize the institute’s work over decades and Brazil’s tradition when it comes to vaccination public policies, which involves the manufacturing of health consumables. “I think it’s important to highlight the need to reduce inequalities in the production capacity for healthcare products among countries, such as vaccines, drugs and diagnostic tests, by decentralizing this production. “I hope more medium- and low-income countries can develop this capacity and that a logic of cooperation prevails, according to the principles of the One Health approach”, she stated.

The Foundation’s vaccine portfolio consists of 12 products, including vaccines against Covid-19, yellow fever, polio, and MMR (measles, mumps and rubella). On average, 120 million doses are delivered every year to the National Immunization Program (PNI, in the Portuguese acronym) of the Ministry of Health, a figure that has soared in the past few years as the Covid-19 vaccines were rolled out.

Inequality in access to vaccines

The WHO General Director, Tedros Adhanom, states that although Covid-19 has highlighted the relevance of vaccines, it also shed light on inequalities regarding access to immunizers. For instance, the vaccine against the human papilloma virus (HPV), which is used to prevent cervical cancer, was introduced in only 41% of low-income countries, against 83% of the richest ones. The WHO preconizes more efforts to alleviate price disparities, as low-income countries still struggle for access to vaccines which are in high demand all over the world.

Source: Fiocruz Portal.