On October 22, 2016, Managua, the capital of the Republic of Nicaragua, witnessed the triumphant completion of the first immunobiological vaccine production facility in Latin America, the Instituto MECHNIKOV. The ceremony was attended by the Minister of Health of Russia Veronika Skvortsova, Head of the FMBA of Russia Vladimir Uiba, President of PAHO Carissa F. Etienne (she also represented the WHO), Director of the Nicaraguan Social Security Institute Dr. Roberto Lopez, Director of SPbSRIVS Viktor Trukhin and other officials. The Instituto MECHNIKOV’s building was constructed in just nine months with the foundation stone laid by the Minister of Health of Russia Veronika Skvortsova in the autumn of 2015. “A year ago, on October 21, 2015, we laid the foundation stone at the plot where the biomedical biotechnological production of seasonal influenza vaccines was planned to rise,” the minister said.
With its area of 9 thousand square meters, the Instituto MECHNIKOV will become one of the most advanced and best-equipped production facilities not only in Latin America, but also in the whole world. Despite the tight deadlines and its location far away from Russia, the facility was commissioned on time. This was made possible by concentrating Russian technologies and expertise, excellence in turnkey pharmaceutical projects, and advanced construction technologies using the up-to-date equipment from the world’s leading manufacturers. Victor Trukhin, Director of SPbSRIVS, says: “Today, by commissioning the plant, we are sending a message to the experts that it makes sense to negotiate with Russia, and if negotiations are conducted in the right way, more enterprises like this one may appear in other locations across the region.”
