Abdala, the vaccine against covid-19 that Venezuela will produce by the millions in Caracas

Recently, Cuba approved the third phase of clinical trials of the Abdala vaccine against covid-19, developed by the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB) in Havana. This third phase includes Venezuela, a country that also – once phase three is completed – will begin to produce the antigen in Caracas.

In Cuba, the Abdala and Soberana 02 vaccines passed the last stage of clinical trials before being evaluated by the Center for State Control of Medicines, Medical Equipment and Devices (CECMED), the entity in charge of authorizing the vaccines.

According to a CECMED statement, Abdala’s approval is supported by «the safety and immunogenicity results it showed» in the first and second phase of the tests, which also obtained the approval of that institution.

The trials of the third phase were carried out on the Caribbean island from March 22 to April 9 in the cities of Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo and Bayamo; and 48,000 people between the ages of 19 and 80 participated. The study is «double blind» randomized, that is, neither the volunteers nor the researchers will know who belongs to the control group (receiving placebos) and who belongs to the experimental group.

Through these analyzes, the aim is to demonstrate the efficacy, safety and immunogenicity of the vaccine, according to the national and international criteria established by the World Health Organization (WHO).

What is the composition of the Abdala vaccin?

Abdala is a vaccine candidate based on the formulation of the RBD protein (Receptor Binding Domain), which uses aluminum hydrogen as an amplifier of the immune response, reports the Cuban News Agency.

The protein used by this drug is extracted from the yeast pichia pastoris, which is widely used for biochemical and biotechnological studies. The drug design uses RBD and the ACE 2 receptor, the main access route of the coronavirus to the cell that infects and causes disease in the individual.

This system induces neutralizing antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the cell, thus developing an immune response in the person. Its name comes from the dramatic poem of the Cuban politician and writer José Martí.
The Abdala production process involves the Aica Laboratories, where it is made on an industrial scale, the Immunoassay Center, the Ministry of Public Health, the Civil Defense Scientific Research Center, CECMED and the National Coordinating Center for Clinical Trials.

In Cuba there are currently five vaccine candidates (Soberana 01, Soberana 01, Soberana Plus, Mambisa and Abdala), which are in different phases of testing.

Production in Venezuela

Last week Venezuela and Cuba announced that they will produce the Abdala vaccine in the Socialist Company Producer of Biological Medicines (Espromed Bio), a center that according to the Venezuelan President, Nicolás Maduro, will produce an average of 2 million vaccines per month from August onwards.

On the day the agreement was finalized, the Venezuelan Minister of Health, Carlos Alvarado, commented that a Cuban technical team visited Espromed Bio and recommended making «adjustments to the plant» to immediately produce Abdala vaccines.

«Venezuela is looking for all possible alternatives for the access of Venezuelans to vaccines, and this (the Abdala) is one of the most important and solid options due to the brotherhood relationship we have with Cuba», said the minister of Health .

Alvarado stressed that Abdala joins the alliances managed by the Venezuelan Government at an international level to immunize the population against covid-19, among which he highlighted the Covax mechanism with the WHO / PAHO, and the agreements with Russia for vaccines Spuntik V and the EpiVacCorona; and with China for Sinopharm. All these vaccines are in addition to those that the Covax mechanism will deliver to the country.

Meanwhile, the Cuban ambassador to Venezuela, Dagoberto Rodríguez, indicated that with this agreement, both countries strengthen their relationship in the midst of the battle they face against the foreign blockade.

“We are setting an example for the world of relationships based on collaboration and solidarity, for the well-being of our peoples. In this fight to confront the cruel and genocidal sanctions of the empire against our countries, which force us, precisely, to strengthen more and more the relationship of brotherhood and fraternity that have characterized us, not only with the legacy of Chávez and the legacy of Fidel, but through all of history», said the Cuban diplomat.