design a synthetic vaccine.
A professor and researcher in the Chemistry Department at UQAM and holder of the Canada Research Chair in Therapeutic Chemistry, René Roy, in collaboration with a team of researchers, has developed and marketed a meningitis and pneumonia vaccine. Produced using organic chemistry, this low-cost vaccine will be able to save more than a million children annually. Mainly designed for children in developing countries and people with immune system deficiencies, the vaccine offers several significant advantages. The product’s synthetic nature makes its safer and more reliable by eliminating the dangers of bacterial contamination. In addition, the technique used to produce the vaccine lowers its cost. Marketed under the name “Quimi-Hib,” the vaccine is produced in Cuba. Since January 2005, all Cuban newborns have been immunized against meningitis free of charge, since the new vaccine has already been incorporated across the full panoply of the Cuban healthcare system. Bear in mind that, each year, around the world, Haemophilus influenzae type b is the cause of death of a half-million children under the age of 5. The vaccine is a spectacular achievement that has motivated the chemist to carry his fight to other fronts. He is tirelessly working on other vaccines, notably against breast cancer and cystic fibrosis.
