Fiocruz participates in the Pasteur Network Annual Meeting, in Rome

The Pasteur Network Annual Meeting 2022 was held this Monday and Tuesday (11/28 and 29), bringing together representatives of the scientific community linked to the network around the world to discuss challenges and paths for public health. The meeting took place in Rome, Italy, and had the participation of Fiocruz representatives. Among them, the professor and researcher Wilson Savino, who moderated the plenary session 2, about “Manufacturing and strengthening the research and development ecosystem”.

The professor and researcher from Fiocruz Wilson Savino moderated the plenary session 2, “Manufacturing and strengthening the research and development ecosystem”

The speakers presented cases in which research and development were and are important within the Pasteur Network, especially in relation to the production of supplies, such as vaccines, for equal access. Savino pointed out that he was replacing President Nisia Trindade Lima, who is in Brasília, in the transition team of President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Savino made a brief presentation of the Fiocruz ecosystem, highlighting its importance for the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS). He emphasized that the Foundation works to reduce inequalities and provide equal access to health supplies and services in the country. “Fiocruz is a strategic institution, recognized nationally and internationally, which makes the difference politically and scientifically. The defense of the right to health and citizenship are core values for the Foundation”, pointed out Savino, noting that Fiocruz operates throughout Brazil.

He also highlighted some points of Fiocruz's performance in the pandemic, such as the production of immunizers, supplying the Brazilian Ministry of Health, and the conclusion of the transfer of technology for the production of a 100% national vaccine, the choice for the hub for mRNA vaccine and the development of a Genomic Network.

The topic of the pandemic was also addressed by Amadou Sall, from the Pasteur Institute in Dakar, from an African perspective. He made a presentation on “Building autonomy and promoting access to human vaccines through local manufacturing in Africa”. In his speech, Amadou addressed the inequalities of access and production of diagnoses and vaccines, which generated a debate between the speakers and the audience.

Before that, Christophe Peyrefitte, from the Pasteur Institute of Guyana, gave a presentation on the “Importance of anti-venom production in the Pasteur Network”, highlighting the role, challenges and opportunities of R&D. He discussed, for example, how it would be possible to take advantage of the capabilities of the Pasteur Network, thinking about ways to make this antigen treatment feasible.

At the end of his speech, Savino drew attention to the importance of the members of the Pasteur Network working together, and that inequalities need to be addressed in controlling the pandemic. “All countries in the world must have equal access to advances in science. It is urgent to practice ‘Ubuntu’, from the Bantu language, which means that all humans are connected and are part of a system of solidarity”.