Guatemala, January 16, 2025 — Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE), the Pan American Health Organization - PAHO and Sinergium Biotech today announced a partnership to collaborate on the location of a pneumococcal vaccine manufacturing facility for distribution in Latin America.

 The effort stems from shared objectives that support PAHO's strategy to foster and build pandemic preparedness in the region, focusing on strengthening regional vaccine production and capacity building, thereby improving preparedness to face a future pandemic. The initiative is also accelerating access to this innovative vaccine by almost two years.

 As part of this agreement, Pfizer will source and produce the 20-valent pneumococcal vaccine through a technology transfer partnership with Sinergium Biotech, an Argentine pharmaceutical manufacturing company. For its part, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) will facilitate the acquisition of the pneumococcal vaccine for its Member States through the Revolving Fund, a cooperation mechanism that allows countries in the Americas to access vaccines, essential medicines, and public health supplies at affordable prices.

 The production will take place at Sinergium Biotech's plant, based in Argentina. Since 2012, Pfizer has collaborated with Sinergium Biotech on a technology transfer agreement for its pneumococcal vaccine, and through this agreement, more than 50 million doses of the vaccine have been supplied to Argentina's National Immunization Program.  This new agreement will support the expansion of this collaboration, including the Pan American Health Organization's goal of further improving regional vaccine manufacturing capacity and faster access to vaccines. 

 “We are proud to sign this agreement, which is Pfizer’s first localization agreement designed for regional supply. This effort is aligned with our goal of offering our advancements throughout Latin America,” said Sinan Atlig, Chief Commercial Officer for EM and President of the Latin America Cluster.

 “This marks a significant milestone in our partnership with Pfizer and our collaboration with PAHO, improving access to innovative vaccines for communities throughout the region. At Sinergium, we are deeply committed to advancing public health across the Americas, and we are proud to play an integral role in this important effort,” said Alejandro Gil, CEO and President of Sinergium Biotech.

 Distribution and access to the vaccine will be facilitated through the PAHO Revolving Fund for Vaccine Access, a program with over 40 years of experience focused on ensuring access to safe, high-quality vaccines at affordable prices for PAHO member countries and territories throughout the region. As part of PAHO's technical cooperation, the Revolving Fund supports the equitable and sustainable reduction of vaccine-preventable diseases by consolidating demand, leveraging economies of scale, and promoting transparency and competition. ^¹ This improves purchasing power, reduces costs, and ensures the sustainability of national immunization programs. 

 Pneumococcal disease is a group of illnesses caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae , or ^pneumococcus , which is one of the leading causes of death from pneumonia in children under 5 years of age ^worldwide .

 Pneumonia caused by pneumococcus is called pneumococcal pneumonia. It is a form of acute respiratory infection that affects the lungs. ^³ It is also the most common form of pneumococcal disease in adults. ^⁴ Although pneumococcal pneumonia can affect people of all ages, infants and children are among the highest-risk groups. ^⁹ It is estimated that in 2000, before the first vaccines against this disease were developed, ^⁵ there were approximately 14.5 million episodes of severe pneumococcal disease worldwide^⁶ and more than 820,000 deaths of children under five years of age, most of them in developing countries. ^⁶

 In 2019 alone, there were more than 740,000 deaths from pneumonia in children under 5 years of age, approximately 250,000 of them in Latin America. ^⁷ Regarding adults, it is estimated that pneumococcal pneumonia causes approximately 500,000 deaths and 30 million episodes annually worldwide in adults aged 70 years and older.^⁸ Generally, everyone is susceptible to pneumococcal disease. However, some conditions increase susceptibility, such as age (infants between 2 months and 3 years of age, and adults over 65 years of age), chronic illness, overcrowding, poverty, active or passive exposure to tobacco smoke, and concurrent upper respiratory tract infections. ^⁹

 The vaccine included in this agreement provides coverage against 20 serotypes, up from the previous vaccine which covered 13 serotypes. ¹⁰

 The benefits of this upgrade extend beyond health and economic advantages. This transition will bring efficiencies to countries due to increased convenience and time savings during vaccine production, as well as the elimination of syringe acquisition and distribution costs. Furthermore, shipments within Latin America will see shorter transport times and a reduced overall carbon footprint.

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 References:

1.      PAHO. PAHO Revolving Fund. Available at: https://www.paho.org/en/revolving-fund . Accessed January 14, 2025

2.      World Health Organization. Pneumococcal Disease. Available at: Pneumococcal Disease . Accessed January 14, 2025

3.      Science Direct. The Pathology of Pulmonary Bacterial Infection. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0740257017300850 Accessed January 14, 2025

4.      CDC. Pneumococcal Disease. Clinical Features of Pneumococcal Disease. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/pneumococcal/hcp/clinical-signs/index.html . Accessed January 15, 2025

5.      Susan A. Wang, Carsten F. Mantel, Marta Gacic-Dobo. Progress in Introduction of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Worldwide 2000–2012. Available at: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4604961/-b3-308-311 . Accessed January 14, 2025.

6.      ScienceDirect. Burden of disease caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae in children younger than 5 years: global estimates. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673609612046?via%3Dihub Accessed January 14, 2025

7.      PAHO. Pneumonia: The Importance of Treatment Adherence and Proper Antibiotic Use. Available at: https://www.paho.org/es/noticias/10-7-2024-neumonia-importancia-adherencia-al-tratamiento-buen-uso-antibioticos Accessed January 14, 2025

8.      Pfizer. Pfizer Announces Top-Line Results from Phase 3 Study of 20-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine in Pneumococcal Vaccine-Naïve Adults Aged 18 Years or Older (2020 March 28). Available at: https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/pfizer-announces-top-line-results-phase-3-study-20-valent Accessed January 14, 2025

9.      PAHO. Pneumococcus. Available at: https://www.paho.org/es/temas/neumococo

10.    Senders S, Klein NP, Lamberth E, Thompson A, Drozd J, Trammel J, Peng Y, Giardina PC, Jansen KU, Gruber WC, Scott DA, Watson W. Safety and Immunogenicity of a 20-valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine in Healthy Infants in the United States. Available at: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8443440/ Accessed January 14, 2025.