Hematologist Dimas Covas, who has been director of the Butantan Institute throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, will be the new chief scientist for research, development and innovation at the pharmaceutical company Sinovac, of Chinese origin, in Brazil. The company was responsible for developing CoronaVac, the first vaccine to arrive on a large scale in the country amid the coronavirus emergency, in 2021. Covas told GLOBO that the agreement also includes the development of new immunization tools.
– It is a very big challenge to develop completely new and innovative products, which are not yet on the market, but which will definitely be the new wave, the new wave of biotechnology – he adds. – Sinovac’s traditional areas are vaccines. Sinovac is making a great effort to adapt to new technologies. In other words, it is investing heavily in RNA (messenger) technology.
In this sense, says Kovas, vaccines against infections will be developed – as in traditional medicine – among other related developments. Cell and gene therapies should also be an important area of study. Tumors and rare diseases tend to be the health problems most often covered by this type of treatment.
Covas will remain in Brazil, although he will pay visits to Beijing to discuss setting up a pharmaceutical company in the country. To take this position, he needed to graduate from the Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine at the University of São Paulo (USP).
– Let’s do clinical studies here. “It’s within expectations and we’re going to get started very quickly,” Kovas says. — I can already tell you, for example, which RNA vaccines are already in clinical development in China that we will bring here to contribute to the study. For example, an option for shingles.
Last year, in a meeting with Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, Sinovac announced an investment of R$ 100 million in Brazil. Part of this investment will be invested specifically in establishing the company in the country, which should happen in the coming months, Kovas says. The operation will take place within the state of São Paulo.
“We want to bring innovation here,” he said.
Kovas says the current moment is training Sinovac team members in the country. There are, for example, employees already working in the planning area. The initial average is to have about 50 people working in R&D, 30% of whom have a PhD.
Last week, in Brazil, Sinovac signed two Production Development Partnerships (PDPs) that will integrate the production structure of the National Immunization Program (PNI). The first will be to produce a chicken pox vaccine and the second will focus on rabies, in partnership with the Paraná Institute of Technology (TECPAR).
Dimas Covas, an important figure in the response to the Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil, remained at the head of the Butantan Institute until November 2022, after five years of work at the head of the institute. He said at the time that he left his position in production to take on the role of CEO of the Butantan Foundation, which focuses more on management.
At the time of the change of positions, software contracts signed by Kovas were the subject of an investigation by the State Audit Court, on suspicion of possible irregularities. Contacted by GLOBO, the organization stated that the cases remain open, with no final ruling. Kovas, in turn, says that the last question he answered regarding the case was in 2023.