Juan David Escobar – President of Seguros SURA

Sura is investing $54 million USD to launch the company, recruiting top human talent from in and outside of the region. The new company is developing 35,000 square meters (376,736 square feet) of production space, expects to hire 500 employees, and build a capacity of producing 100 million doses of vaccines or other biological medicines per year, said Juan David Escobar, the president of Seguros SURA.

“We seek to reach vaccine production self sufficiency and to guarantee the region’s biological products self reliance.”

The company will both import and distribute products, as well as manufacture and develop treatments.

“Vaxthera is a 100% Colombian company and with the support of Sura we are going to research create and develop vaccines and cures. We seek to reach vaccine production self-sufficiency and to guarantee the region’s biological self sufficiency,” says Jorge Emilio Osorio Benitez (above), the founding CEO of VaxThera.

“I started outside Colombia and I wanted to start an industry in Colombia, and with the support of Sura it is happening. One of our first products is a booster vaccine against SARS-COV-2. We will have the capacity to produce vaccines against Dengue, Chikungunya, Yellow Fever, Influenza and Zika,” added Osorio.

Osorio said that the company is in the process of analyzing site selection options, mentioning Bogotá and the Medellín suburb of Rionegro as possible locations.

The Colombian government is offering the free “CoronApp Colombia” for download on Android devices, and toll free information lines (within Colombia): 01-800 095-5590 or for Bogotá: 330 5041. International callers may dial +57 1 330-5041

The 34 year old man from Buga and the 50 year old woman from Medellín presented symptoms and sought health attention, where they were tested positive for the infection. Both patients are said to be in stable condition and epidemiological protocols have been established to contact and test those who may have come into contact with the patients.

Virus arrival coincides with new health minister appointment

The day before the health ministry confirmed the virus in Colombia, President Ivan Duque (above, left) swore in a new health minister after the previous official resigned in December. The new health minister, Dr. Fernando Ruíz Gomez (above, right) is a medical doctor and also holds a masters degree in economics, and one in public health, as well as a doctorate in public health.

Dr. Ruíz was vice minister of public health and social protection in Colombia from 2013 to 2016 during the Santos administration, and also served as regional health director for Bogotá.

Authorities urge that one of the most effective means of prevention is to wash hands thoroughly and frequently.

The young woman arrived without symptoms but after a coed in Mexico showed signs of infection, she went to give samples for analysis which eventually turned up positive for the virus. Though 3 Colombians have been confirmed to be infected in Brazil and Japan, and there have been several suspected cases on Colombian territory that tested negative, this is the first case confirmed as positive. Several other Colombian travelers are being held in quarantine in Bogotá until their status can be confirmed.

Out of 105,828 global cases of Coronavirus, there is only 1 confirmed case in Colombia as of publication. (Infographic courtesy of Colombian Ministry of Health)

Meanwhile air travel, meetings, and street traffic continues as normal throughout Colombia, albeit with a small but noticeable minority of people wearing respiratory masks.

Last Friday, the Colombian Minister of Health and Social Protection Fernando Ruiz Gómez met with regional secretaries of health, EPS (employee health plan providers), IPS (health services providers such as clinics), insurers, and medical associations to establish and coordinate a response plan to Coronavirus, and activate contingency plans developed over the past 8 weeks.

Colombia is now one of 96 countries that have confirmed Coronavirus cases, including China, Romania, Italy, the US, México, Ecuador, Brazil, Chile, Peru & Canada.

Medical experts say that Coronavirus is most frequently propagated from human to human through cough droplets and respiratory tract excretions and may also be transmitted by close human contact or fecal contamination. The virus is believed to have propagated from animals to human, and there have been cases reported of dogs catching the virus from humans.

The laboratory hopes to innovate in the study of tropical diseases such as dengue fever, chickungunya, and the flu. It will also seek other research opportunities in the interest of public health, and regional priorities. The research facilities fits into Medellin’s “CT+I” plan, to become a global leader and destination in science and technology. The space will allow open collaboration between University of Wisconsin scientists, and those of PECET, ICMT, and the CIB (Corporation for Biological Investigation), and others.

Laboratory Research Goals:

• Create a unit for the investigation and traning in infectious diseases, and vector-transmitted tropical diseases.
• Develop new diagnostic methods for viral pathogens, including influenza, dengue fever, and chicungunya.
• Evaluate vaccines and antivirals against viral pathogens in animal models.
• Conduct field and laboratory studies on tropical infectious diseases and other sicknesses with a public health impact.

The University of Wisconsin, located in the city of Madison and founded in 1848, is the principal public university in the US state of Wisconsin.

Above: A training classroom inside Medellin’s Ruta N (Photo credit: Loren Moss)