VaxThera, a SURA Company Created in Colombia for the Research and Development of Vaccines for Latin America

MEDELLIN, Colombia, June 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Understanding Latin America’s need of self-sufficiency in order to face future pandemics, and with the preservation of life as a priority, we have created VaxThera: a SURA Company expert in the research, development and commercialization of vaccines in Colombia and the region.

This company has a projected investment of 54 million dollars made by Seguros SURA Colombia for its first stage, and the knowledge of a group of researchers, led by Dr. Jorge Emilio Osorio Benitez, with more than 30 years of experience in the research and development of vaccines.

VaxThera will allow the import and commercialization of vaccines and other types of biological products for Colombia and Latin America, as well as the transfer of technology needed in the country for the production and development of these types of products, thus contributing to health safety for the country and the region.

“Several institutions and health experts worldwide, have repeatedly warned that the world must prepare for future pandemics, and be ready to deploy all human, technological and logistics skills in order to protect the population. Aware of this situation, and looking to protect life, Seguros SURA has decided to invest in the creation of VaxThera, because this organization will allow us to move forward in biotechnology, as well as develop and strengthen skills that can turn Colombia into a key agent for Latin America. In SURA, we believe in the importance of research, development and innovation at the service of the people”, stated Juan David Escobar, CEO of Seguros SURA Colombia.

VaxThera is a company focused on science, where biologicals will be researched and developed from Colombia for the world, looking to meet Latin America’s need of vaccine production self-reliance, and to guarantee the self-sufficiency of biologicals in the region.

The Company is currently developing a universal SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, which is now in its preclinical trial stage in Wisconsin (United States), and is expected to be ready in 2023. This will be a good booster vaccine option, which will facilitate the procurement and distribution processes.

Additionally, VaxThera will have the ability to research and produce vaccines against Dengue, Chikungunya, Yellow Fever, Influenza and Zika. While this development comes to fruition, we will move forward with the import of several types of vaccines needed in the region with the help of strategic allies, both for Coronavirus and other types of tropical diseases, in order for the population to be able to have timely access to these medications, and to contribute to Latin America’s health security.

“With VaxThera, we will provide an opportunity for Colombia to recover the autonomy to understand, adapt and respond to the needs of the country, taking advantage of highly skilled human talent with valuable ideas. For VaxThera, it is important to build a path that turns Colombia into a country capable of developing, managing and positioning vaccines from their early stages, up to their final development, so that they do not depend on imports. Lastly, this experience in conjunction with Seguros SURA, motivates different sectors to generate alliances, in order to exploit local capacities and infrastructure”, said Jorge Emilio Osorio, CEO of VaxThera.

To generate the human, technical and technological abilities needed to allow Colombia to generate independence in terms of biological products, a 35,000 m² production plant will be built, which will have the highest technological and human talent standards, and which will generate around 500 jobs between all specialty levels. This construction will be finished in 2023, and once operational, it will have the capacity to produce up to 100 million doses per year.

VaxThera will represent a sustainable progress in terms of biotechnology and development of specialized skills and human talent, looking to turn Colombia into a key player in research, development and innovation, which translates into technological and biological improvements at the service of the health of Colombians and Latin Americans.

Website: www.vaxthera.com Media Resources: Press Kit

About VaxThera
VaxThera is a Colombian company focused on science, dedicated to the research and development of biological products for the world. The Company seeks to generate health self-sufficiency on the basis of research, development and innovation in biotechnology and healthcare. VaxThera is created thanks to the coordination between SURA and world renowned researchers in the fields of biotechnology and human healthcare. The Company is led by a team with more than 30 years of experience in the research and development of biological products.

About Seguros SURA Colombia
With more than 76 years of experience, this subsidiary of Suramericana S.A. offers a wide portfolio of insurance solutions and provision of services that deliver sustainable well-being and competitiveness to 12 million individual clients in Colombia, through the management of trends and risks. Its business units comprise Life and General segments, both for voluntary insurance (Seguros SURA) and mandatory insurance (EPS SURA and ARL SURA). Their value proposition is reinforced through the provision of healthcare services (IPS SURA), diagnostic testing, and technical advisory and assistance (Risk Management Consultancy).

About Dr. Jorge Emilio Osorio Benítez
CEO and Founder of VaxThera. He is a Full Professor at the Department of Pathobiological Sciences of the University of Wisconsin-Madison (United States). Additionally, he has a Master’s Degree in Science and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, where he studied emerging viral diseases. Co-Founder and Scientific Director of Inviragen, Biotechnology Company which developed a new Dengue vaccine. He also developed vaccines against Chikungunya, Flu, Rabies, Plague and many other emerging infectious diseases. He was also the Vice President of Research and Vice President of Scientific Affairs for the Vaccines Business Division of Takeda Pharmaceuticals. His industry career has included Heska Corporation (Ft. Collins, CO), Merial LTD (Atenas, GA/Lyon, France) and Chiron-Powderject Vaccines (Madison, WI). He has more than 30 of experience in research, and his h-index is 37, with more than 150 scientific articles published in international magazines, and 32 patents.

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SOURCE VaxThera