The influenza vaccine Ultrrix Quadri can be used to immunize children in the youngest age group and pregnant women. The corresponding approval by the Ministry of Health of Russia was received by the enterprise of the Natsimbio holding of the Rostec state corporation.
“The Ultra Quadri vaccine provides protection against four current strains of influenza virus – two subtypes of virus A and two – virus B. The drug contains 15 μg of antigens of each strain in each dose – a total of 60 μg. This is the formulation recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for inclusion in inactivated vaccines. Ultrrix Quadri is being produced at the FORT plant using full-cycle technology in compliance with international GMP standards”, Natsimbio said in a statement.
Currently, the drug can be used for children from six months, adolescents and adults up to 60 years old.
“We expect that in the near future the Ministry of Health of Russia will authorize the use of Ultra Quadri for persons over 60 years old, and it will become available for this age group already in the epidemic season 2021-2022,” said Oleg Yevtushenko, Executive Director of Rostec.
The FORT biopharmaceutical company is Russia largest producer of influenza vaccines, producing more than 30 million doses of preventive drugs per year. In 2020, the company entered the international market, sending more than a million doses of vaccines for export. Over 90% of deliveries were the quadrivalent vaccine Ultra Quadri.
In the near future, FORT is preparing for the prequalification procedure by the World Health Organization, which will provide opportunities to expand the geography of export supplies. Now vaccines manufactured by FORT are used for immunoprophylaxis of the population in Belarus and the Republic of Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
The National Immunobiological Company (Natsimbio) was established with the aim of creating a holding company (integrated structure) of Rostec State Corporation in the field of development and production of immunobiological products. The holding was created to ensure the independence of the Russian Federation from imports in the healthcare and drug supply system. To implement the tasks set, the management loop of the holding included NPO Microgen, FORT LLC, Synthesis OJSC.
