Genomma Lab and Oravax Medical partner to commercialize oral vaccine for Covid-19 in Mexico

Genomma Lab and Oravax Medical, a subsidiary of the pharmaceutical company Oramed, announced a strategic alliance to carry out tests to commercialize Oravax, the candidate for oral vaccine against Covid-19 in Mexico.

Rodrigo Herrera Aspra, Chairman of the Board of Genomma LabHe said at a press conference that the vaccine is currently in clinical trials in its phase 1 in South Africa and once this phase has concluded, which they trust will be in the coming months, they await approval for phase 2.

However, after the announcement, Genomma Lab shares fell 1.11% in this Thursday’s session on the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV), while the shares of Oramed Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ORMP) advanced about 1.0% on Nasdaq .

Under this alliance, Genomma Lab, a Mexican firm that markets pharmaceutical and personal care products, will provide resources to develop clinical trials that allow the Covid-19 oral vaccine to be marketed in Mexico.

“Genomma Lab will leverage its supply chain capabilities and extensive presence in the Latin American market to drive business development and the eventual deployment of the vaccines throughout the region ”, it was reported in a statement sent to the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV).

Among the “join venture” agreements, Oramed and Genomma Lab will carry out the exchange of shares for 20 million dollars and the Mexican firm commits to participate in a future investment in Oravax.

“The characteristics of the oral vaccine Oravax, make it an ideal candidate for the emergency use approval process. We are excited to be able to play a key role in bringing this innovative solution to the potential market of 662 million people in Latin America, ”Rodrigo Herrera said in the statement.

In a conference, Nadav Kidron, CEO of Oramed and Chairman of the Board of Oravax, explained that they have the capacity to carry out large-scale distribution and logistics of the vaccine, since it is not necessary to have cold chain storage .

“The Oravax oral vaccine is made up of three specific proteins that resemble various components of the virus, including some proteins that are less susceptible to mutation, so this oral vaccine candidate can potentially be more effective in protecting against current and future variants. of the Covid-19 virus”, Adds the statement.

If approved by the authorities, abounds, it could be administered independently or as a booster to previously vaccinated people.