Home » Health » Russia and the AstraZeneca laboratory announced that they will work together to improve the coronavirus vaccine

Russia and the AstraZeneca laboratory announced that they will work together to improve the coronavirus vaccine

A scientist from the Gamaleya Institute is working on preparing a vaccine against coronavirus (Andrey Rudakov / Handout via REUTERS)

British laboratory AstraZeneca and Russia on Friday announced joint clinical trials that will combine their two vaccines against the new coronavirus. Both use adenoviral vectors.

“We announced a program of clinical trials to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of the ASD1222 combination., developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, and Sputnik V, developed by the Gamaleya research institute ”, the Russian subsidiary of AstraZeneca said in a statement, in which it specified that the tests will be carried out on individuals over 18 years of age.

In a note published on Friday, the Russian sovereign wealth fund, which is involved in the development of the vaccine, indicated that it had proposed in November to AstraZeneca the use of one of the two components of the Sputnik V vaccine. “AstraZeneca accepted the proposal (…) of use one of the two Sputnik V vaccine vectors in supplemental clinical trials of its own vaccine, which will begin before the end of the year”Added the Russian sovereign wealth fund.

“The combinations of the different vaccines against covid-19 can be an important stage to create greater protection “, corroborated AstraZeneca, explaining that joining two investigations can achieve a” better immune response. “

“It is important to explore heterologous potentiation to make immunization programs more flexible, allowing physicians a greater choice when administering vaccines.. It is hoped that the combination can lead to a better immune response. The UK government recently announced that it will launch a clinical trial that will combine adenovirus vaccines with mRNA technology. AstraZeneca is also considering how it can explore heterogeneous combinations of different adenovirus vaccines.“Said the laboratory.

“Both AZD1222 and Sputnik V are adenoviral vector vaccines containing genetic material from the SARS-CoV-2 virus tip protein. The adenovirus itself is unable to replicate, so it can only act as a carrier of genetic material. Scientific collaboration with the Gamaleya Research Institute is important to explore the potential of vaccine combinations that unlock synergies in protection and accessibility through a portfolio approach.added.

Russia claimed its vaccine is 95 percent effective. It is currently in phase 3 of clinical trials in about 40,000 volunteers. The country started vaccinating part of its population last week.

AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford announced that their vaccine was 70% effective on average.

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