First stage of Belarus' COVID-19 vaccine project to kick off in 2022

The first stage of the investment project to produce Belarus' own COVID-19 vaccine will be implemented in 2022, Belmedpreparaty Director General Sergei Belyayev told reporters, BelTA has learned.

Belmedpreparaty in collaboration with BelVitunipharm set up a joint venture to create Belarus' own COVID-19 vaccine. “This process has two stages. The first stage involves production of an active component at BelVitunipharm and a finished vaccine at Belmedpreparaty. The second stage envisages the construction of a plant, namely a manufacturing complex for full-cycle production of the coronavirus vaccine,” Sergei Belyayev said.

“We will launch the first stage next year. At this stage, preclinical and clinical trials of the vaccine will be done to test its safety and evaluate its efficacy,” he continued.

Sergei Belyayev noted that the production itself will be quite cost-effective. “The first stage will require minimal spending in general, since Belmedpreparaty has the necessary equipment, human resources and competences to finalize the vaccine production. Therefore, our costs will be minimal,” Sergei Belyayev said.

BelVitunipharm also has sufficient competences and material resources for that. “Indeed, some investments will be needed to produce this substance under GMP standards, but the spending will be relatively small,” he added.

A reminder, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko signed a decree to implement an investment project to produce Belarus' own COVID-19 vaccine on the premises of the BelVitunipharm company in 2021-2023. This investment project provides for the construction of a vaccine production plant in the village of Dolzha, Vitebsk Oblast (with the upgrade of the existing production facility). The BelVitunipharm premises were chosen by the government, because the company has the necessary infrastructure and competencies to produce a vaccine. In addition to that, it is a promising site to develop a biotechnological cluster.

The work on the vaccine is being done by organizations subordinate to the Healthcare Ministry and the National Academy of Sciences. A series of a prototype vaccines has already been developed.

The decree provides for the exemption of technological equipment, raw materials and materials imported for the implementation of the project from customs duties and the value added tax.