• The Colombian biotechnology company received a patent for its COVID-19 vaccine from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

• The granting of this patent strengthens the company’s positioning, recognition, and experience as a key player contributing to the country’s health independence.

Medellín, July 2024. VaxThera, a Colombian biotechnology company focused on the development of vaccines and biologics that contribute to health sovereignty for the country and the region, announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted a patent for its coronavirus vaccine. The vaccine comprises a mosaic protein that enables broad protective coverage against different coronaviruses, as well as their various variants.

The granting of the patent is a recognition of the company’s rigor, innovation, effort, and investment. Through a demanding technical process lasting more than three years, VaxThera demonstrated that its invention is novel, involves an inventive step, and has industrial applicability. Patents are assets of great strategic relevance for companies in the technology sector, especially in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, since they are the best means of protecting innovations and encouraging research and development activities.

Obtaining this patent strengthens VaxThera’s positioning and experience as a biotechnology company that seeks to transform science, research, and development into benefits that help improve the quality of life of Colombians and Latin Americans, while offering the region the health independence it needs to face future diseases.

It is worth noting that since 1998, vaccines have not been produced in Colombia, and although the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) includes 21 vaccines that protect against 26 diseases, none are manufactured locally. Local production contributes to the recovery of the national pharmaceutical industry, as it enables equitable, effective, and efficient distribution throughout the country, while also improving access to disease-prevention products that have a significant public health impact. All of this also represents a contribution to the economy through job creation, revenue generation from the export of biologics, and reduced costs for distributors.

“We are very proud of the hard work behind this patent. This achievement is a major milestone for VaxThera and demonstrates Colombia’s capacity to develop new medicines against threats, as well as the importance of protecting intellectual property rights. In addition, this application was filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), which allows us to simultaneously seek protection for this invention in other territories such as Colombia, Brazil, India, South Africa, and Europe,” said Jorge E. Osorio, President of VaxThera.

In a global context of increasing demand for innovative medical solutions, intellectual property has become a fundamental pillar for the advancement and competitiveness of the vaccine industry in Colombia. Patent grants encourage investment in research and development, ensuring that companies can leverage their inventions for the benefit of the community. They also promote collaboration between institutions, facilitate access to advanced technologies, and enhance the country’s capacity to respond to health challenges.

To achieve this milestone, VaxThera received support, advice, and guidance from Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C., a U.S.-based firm specializing in intellectual property for the biotechnology sector. “The only asset that a research-focused biotechnology start-up like VaxThera has at the beginning of its corporate life is its intellectual property. This patent protects that intellectual property in the U.S. market and enhances, on a global level, the contribution made by the company’s pioneering scientists,” said Dr. Jorge Goldstein, founder of the firm and considered one of the pioneers of biotechnology patent law in the United States.

As a Colombian company with Seguros SURA as a founding partner, VaxThera is working with its own capabilities, collaborative networks, cutting-edge technology, and national and international experts who will help strengthen knowledge transfer to achieve vaccine autonomy and be prepared for future pandemics. The granted patent provides the company with the possibility of holding exclusivity over the invention for 20 years and continuing along the path toward reindustrializing the health sector through the local production of vaccines and biologics.

Press Contact

Manuela Sánchez Salazar
msanchezs@sura.com.co