Darnitsa will receive from WHO the mRNA vaccine production technology

The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially identified the Ukrainian pharmaceutical company Darnitsa as the only one in Ukraine that will get the mRNA-based vaccines production technology. Now in Ukraine no vaccines are being produced for any of the diseases, so this is a significant step for the domestic pharmaceutical industry development.

According to the WHO report, since April 2022, Ukraine has joined the list of countries that have received the WHO Global Center* support in technology transfer for the production of mRNA-based vaccines. After a long competition, Darnitsa was chosen among other pharmaceutical companies in the country, as a manufacturer with strong potential in mRNA technology mastering for the production of vaccines and other medical products. Within this project framework, the Darnitsa team will undergo a special training on technology transfer at WHO training centers.

Synthetic mRNA is a revolutionary technology that allows creating a fundamentally new class of drugs for many diseases remaining incurable today. This technology was founded in the 1970s. Its effect basic mechanism was strikingly simple: the world's most powerful drug factory can be found inside every human being. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak the mRNA vaccine was not widely known. On December 14, 2020, the first approved mRNA vaccine was introduced in the United States. Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna anti-COVID vaccines have been developed based on this technology.

“Congratulations to our ‘Darnitsa’ and all Ukrainians! We are starting the process to obtain mRNA technology for vaccines production. Our team worked on this project even before the war began. Therefore, receiving such news from WHO is now extremely important. This is a victory for both ‘Darnitsa’ and our state. We are thanking the Ministry of Public Health of Ukraine and personally Viktor Lyashko for their support and assistance!” said Dmytro Shymkiv, chairman of the Darnitsa Group Board of Directors.

Recall that in March 2022, Darnitsa officially won the competition and signed an agreement with MPP (the Medicines Patent Pool) to obtain a license for the development and production of a generic version of Pfizer - PAXLOVID™. These are oral medications for COVID-19. Now Darnitsa is the first and only pharmaceutical company in Ukraine authorised to develop and produce this drug for sale in 95 countries of the world**, including Ukraine.

Therefore, in the near future, Ukraine will finally have vaccines and medicines for COVID-19 of its own production.

Reference

PJSC pharmaceutical company Darnitsa was founded in 1930. Since 1998, Darnitsa is the leader in Ukrainian pharma industry in terms of drug production in kind. Strategic areas of products portfolio development include cardiology, neurology, and pain management. During 2015-2021, Darnitsa launched more than 70 pharmaceutical brands on the market. Since 2002, the production of Darnitsa is certified according to the GMP standard. Since 2022, Darnitsa is certified according to the Australian GMP standard.

* The WHO global mRNA technology transfer center in South Africa.

**This refers to 95 middle-and low-income countries worldwide.

*** The information is intended exclusively for distribution in specialized publications intended for medical institutions and doctors