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Covid-19: Combined trials of Sputnik V, Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to begin soon
The world’s first combined vaccine use will be conducted in line with clinical trials protocol registered on December 24, 2020. The research will be carried out over the course of six months in several countries with 100 volunteers recruited in each
World’s first clinical trials of Coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccine combination of Sputnik V and the Oxford–AstraZeneca are to begin in former soviet republic Azerbaijan by February-end.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which is Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, has announced that the ministry of health of the republic of Azerbaijan has issued a permit on February 8 to conduct clinical trials in the country of a combined use of Sputnik V and the vaccine developed jointly by AstraZeneca and Oxford University.
According to an official statement issued by RDIF, clinical trials will begin by the end of February.
RDIF, The Gamaleya Center, AstraZeneca and R-Pharm had earlier signed a Memorandum of Intent aimed at cooperation in vaccine development, which was announced in December 2020 during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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The world’s first combined vaccine use will be conducted in line with clinical trials protocol registered on December 24, 2020.
“The study will allow evaluating the immunogenicity and safety of the combined use of Sputnik V and the vaccine jointly developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University,” said the statement.
The research will be carried out over the course of six months in several countries with 100 volunteers recruited in each.
“We need to join our international efforts and use the most advanced solutions to defeat the coronavirus. A publication in the leading peer-reviewed medical journal, The Lancet, showed Sputnik V to be 91.6% efficacious. It is only one of three vaccines in the world with efficacy of over 90%,” said Kirill Dmitriev, CEO, RDIF.
“We are ready to develop cooperation with other manufacturers to increase the number of affordable and effective vaccines. The partnership for the clinical study of the combination of the AZD1222 vaccine with the adenoviral vector Ad26 of the Sputnik V vaccine has become the first and very important example of such cooperation in the world,” he added.
According to the vaccine developers, Sputnik V vaccine uses the unique technology of combining two different vectors based on human adenovirus, which allows for a stronger and longer-term immune response compared to vaccines using the same vector for two shots.
The regimen with two different adenoviral vectors for a prime and a boost immunisation helps to avoid immunity to the first vector, which is formed after the first inoculation, and thus to raise efficacy of the second inoculation and create long-term immunity. This regimen is one of the reasons why the vaccine shows efficacy of over 90%, with full protection against severe cases.
The AstraZeneca vaccine was developed by the University of Oxford in conjunction with Vaccitech. It uses a replication-defective chimpanzee viral vector based on an attenuated version of the common cold virus (adenovirus) that causes infection in chimpanzees, and contains genetic material from the SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) spike protein.
“R-Pharm has been actively working with the Republic of Azerbaijan for several years, we opened a modern production facility here in 2019, later in 2020 we registered two drugs from our anti-Covid portfolio: Artlegia and Coronavir. This pilot study is vital for developing of a new approach to the prevention of Covid-19. Moreover, the leading scientific and clinical centres of Azerbaijan will be able to make their own important contribution in this direction,” said Alexey Repik, chairman, board of directors, R-Pharm.
