In 2021, the pharmaceutical holding Natsimbio of Rostec State Corporation will increase the volume of deliveries of the tetravalent influenza vaccine Ultrix Quadri to 16.04 million doses. This is three times more than in 2019, when the drug was first supplied to the regions as part of the National Calendar of Preventive Vaccinations (NCPV). Deliveries are carried out under state contracts with the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation.
The increase in the production of a quadrivalent vaccine is associated with the plan of the Ministry of Health and Rospotrebnadzor to gradually replace trivalent drugs with quadrivalent ones within the framework of the NCPV. This is provided for in the Strategy for the development of immunoprophylaxis of infectious diseases for the period up to 2035.
According to Alexander Nazarov, Deputy Director General of Rostec State Corporation, modern quadrivalent vaccines provide more effective protection against influenza due to the additional strain B. Russia is one of the few countries where a full cycle production of such drugs is performed.
“This year we started shipping flu vaccine ahead of schedule. Natsimbio has already supplied 33 million doses of vaccines to the healthcare system. About 11 million doses of the total volume are the tetravalent Ultrix Quadri vaccine. Deliveries will continue until mid-November,” Alexander Nazarov said.
The vaccine is produced based on full-cycle technology at the FORT biopharmaceutical plant. It is the largest enterprise in Russia producing influenza vaccines. The company put its flagship drug Ultrix Quadri into civil circulation in 2019. Its specifics is in the strain composition, as well as in the content of the active substance. In particular, the vaccine protects against four current strains of the influenza virus: two subtypes of type A (A/H1N1 + A/H3N2) and two of type B in two lines (B/Yamagata + B/Victoria) and includes 15 micrograms of antigens of each strain in one dose, a total of 60 micrograms. The drug does not contain preservatives, stabilizers or adjuvants, which are used to artificially enhance the immune response. Since this year, Ultrix Quadri has been approved for use for all ages, including children from six months old, as well as for pregnant women.
The Ultrix Quadri vaccine was registered in Turkmenistan this summer. Earlier, its use was approved in the Republic of Belarus.