There are 13 billion doses of anti-Covid vaccines produced in just 12 months, starting from the second quarter of 2021 until the end of the first quarter of 2022. Vaccines developed to prevent a disease that was unknown until December 2019, with a reduction in Research and Development times of over 2 years (from 37 to 11 months) compared to the average.
Over 200 public-private partnerships
The figure emerged during the Farmindustria public meeting held in Rome on 7 July. And it’s not the only one. From the data published by the association of drug companies, it emerges, for example, that 3% of all drugs authorized globally from 2012 to 2021 are directed against Covid. It is an exceptional result that is also the result of countless collaborations – over 200 – between companies and public research centers. But not only that: fundamental were also a “greater speed in assessments and authorizations, greater sharing of information, simplification of treatment paths”, recalled the president of Farmindustria Marcello Cattani.
Italian research at the top of the international level
On the scientific production front, Italian researchers have contributed to about 8 thousand publications on Covid-19, placing Italian research at the top of international rankings, especially in 2020, when our country was preceded only by the US, China and the UK. by number of studies.
Italy among the top 4 countries in the EU for exports
Italy is also the fourth EU country exporter of vaccines against the virus: with 1.4 billion euros of exports of anti-Covid vaccines in 2021 it was preceded only by Belgium, Germany, Spain. It is also a hub for the production of monoclonal and antiviral antibodies and plays a leading role in clinical research and diagnostic tests, Farmindustria pointed out.