Sputnik V-AstraZeneca Covid-19 Vaccine Combination Under Study

Clinical trials of a combination of AstraZeneca’s AZD1222 vaccine with Sputnik V’s human adenoviral vector type Ad26 will begin soon.

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 22 — A clinical research programme will study the immunogenicity and safety of the combined use of components from the Sputnik V and AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines.

An agreement on developing clinical research was signed by the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Sputnik V developer Gamaleya National Center, UK pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, and Russian pharmaceutical enterprise R-Pharm to explore the possibilities for joint use of the Sputnik V vaccine and the AZD1222 vaccine from AstraZeneca and University of Oxford.

The research aims to create a more effective and long-term immunisation against potential new coronavirus infections.

Clinical trials of a combination of the AZD1222 vaccine from AstraZeneca with Sputnik V’s human adenoviral vector type Ad26 will begin soon, said RDIF, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, in a statement yesterday. The trials will be funded by R-Pharm.

RDIF added that the Sputnik V vaccine, which uses a combination of two different human adenoviral vectors, provides a stronger and long-term immune response as compared to vaccines that use the same component for both inoculations. An adenoviral vector transfers viral antigens into the host cell to trigger a desired immune response.

The Sputnik V vaccine is 91.4 per cent effective against the coronavirus, while it is 100 per cent effective in preventing severe cases of Covid-19. The AstraZeneca vaccine has an efficacy rate between 62 per cent and 90 per cent, depending on whether trial participants took a full dose or a half-dose first.

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