CEVAP: ready for the 21st century

Rui Seabra Ferreira Júnior, Executive Director, Center for the Study of Venoms and Venomous Animals (CEVAP), São Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu, SP, Brazil.

In 2023, CEVAP will celebrate 30 years of existence. Almost three decades have passed since its establishment. During this period, a lot of effort, commitment and dedication were necessary for the Center to develop solid foundations for its sustainability. The group of researchers, specialized in the use of animal venoms and toxins as a study tool, since the beginning of the creation of CEVAP has worked tirelessly for its expansion in the 21^st century.

To speed up the dissemination of scientific discoveries, in 1995 the researchers launched the first electronic scientific journal in Brazil, the Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases (www.jvat.org). JVATiTD, the official publication of CEVAP, currently has a worldwide impact and ranks among the leading journals on tropical diseases and toxinology. It should be noted that the same commitment that led CEVAP professionals to mature as researchers also led them to improve their skills as editors. Thus, knowing more and more about the work practices of experienced international editors and publishers, they were able to bring new insights to the journal, which directly reflected on the growth of its metrics.

CEVAP, as a unit of translational science of UNESP, in addition to working in research and scientific dissemination through its journal, also offers university extension programs, specialization in diagnostic and therapeutic innovation, and graduate studies in clinical research. Investing in innovation and entrepreneurship, the CEVAP group has developed and produced two biopharmaceuticals in the last decades. Based on well-founded basic studies, it was possible to choose candidate molecules that generated, respectively, the Heterologous Fibrin Sealant and the Apilic Antivenom.

Image: CEVAP/UNESP.

Figure 1. The future of CEVAP. Proposed model for the façade of the Factory for the Production of Pilot Batches for Clinical Research.

JVATiTD carries in its DNA part of the history of the development of these two bioproducts, since peer-reviewed articles on Fibrin Sealant began to be published in the journal in the late 1990s. These articles contain the entire history of the process from the initial experimental tests, election of laboratory techniques in compliance with current regulatory standards, identification of donor animals of candidate molecules, up to the improvement and application of products in humans^1-21. In the same way, the journal subsequently followed the publications related to the Apilic Antivenom, a bioproduct developed in the last decade²².

Following this groundbreaking path, after the discovery and patenting of these two biopharmaceuticals, CEVAP took part in phase I/II clinical trials to prove their safety and possible clinical efficacy. Due to the promising results published in scientific journals with a high impact factor, including JVATiTD, CEVAP researchers sought funding for the construction of the Factory for the Production of Pilot Batches for Clinical Research – the first with this profile in America Latina – for the production of biopharmaceutical samples for clinical trials²³.

This factory will act as a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP-CDMO) capable of working on the development of a drug from its preformulation, laboratory-scale production, scalability for industrial production and carrying out biological, preclinical and clinical tests – tasks that Contract Research Organizations (CROs) are able to perform within good production practices.

In this way, CEVAP prepares itself to support multiple process modalities and workflows relative to antibody, vaccine, cell and gene therapies, contributing to the development of technologies, promoting improvement of health in Brazil, in addition to generating wealth for the country. In this context, JVATiTD intends to follow in the footsteps of its institution, seeking innovation and quality so that on its 30th anniversary it can also celebrate the positive results that will guarantee its permanence in the competitive world of scientific publishing.

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Link(s)

CEVAP/UNESP – Social media: Facebook | Twitter

CEVAP/UNESP | Institutional video | 2020

CEVAP/UNESP | Signing Ceremony | Manufacturing Plant for Production of Clinical Research Samples

JVATITD – Social Media: Facebook | Twitter

Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases: https://www.jvat.org/

Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases – JVATITD: https://www.scielo.br/j/jvatitd/