AstraZeneca, Russia’s Sputnik V to work on Covid-19 vaccine combinations
An illustration picture taken on November 17, 2020 shows vials with Covid-19 Vaccine stickers attached and syringes with the logo of British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca.
AstraZeneca has teamed up with Russian scientists to test whether combining Russian vaccine Sputnik V and its AZD1222, which use the same platform, can improve the latter’s vaccine‘s performance, thereby generating wider protection.
The British-Swedish company’s vaccine this week became the first major Covid-19 vaccine candidate to have results of its safety and efficacy from phase 3 trials published in a peer-reviewed journal.
The Lancet paper confirms the interim analysis report AstraZeneca released in November, showing the vaccine is safe and has an overall efficacy of 70 per cent in protecting against symptomatic Covid-19.
AstraZeneca Friday said it will start working with Russia’s Gamaleya Institute to investigate whether its two vaccine candidates could be successfully combined.
The announcement came after developers of the Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine late last month approached AstraZeneca asking to try combining the two vaccines to boost efficacy.
“Today we announce a clinical trial programme to assess safety and immunogenicity of combination of AZD1222, developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University and Sputnik V, developed by Russian Gamaleya Research institute. It will begin enrolling adults aged 18 and older,” AstraZeneca said in a statement.
Combination benefits
An effective vaccine usually requires more than one-time immunisation in the form of a prime and a booster dose. Traditionally, the same vaccines are given multiple times as homologous boosts.
AZD1222 is a viral vector vaccine developed by modifying an adenovirus from chimpanzees with the aim of training the immune system to mount a strong response against Sars-CoV-2 (the virus that causes Covid-19).
Adenoviruses are a group of common viruses that cause a range of illnesses. They can cause cold-like symptoms, fever, sore throat, bronchitis, pneumonia, diarrhea, and pink eye (conjunctivitis).
Both AZD1222 and Sputnik V are adenoviral vector vaccines that contain genetic material of Sars-CoV-2 virus spike protein. The adenovirus itself is unable to replicate so it can only act as a carrier of genetic material.
“Being able to combine different Covid-19 vaccines may be helpful to improved protection and/or to improve vaccine accessibility. This is why it is important to explore different vaccine combinations to help make immunisation programmes more flexible, by allowing physicians greater choice at the time of administering vaccines,” it added.
AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine, produced in collaboration with the University of Oxford, is one of several seeking to secure approval from medicine regulators.
Russia, on the other hand, has claimed Sputnik V is over 90 per cent effective in preventing people from contracting the virus, citing preliminary results from ongoing trials.
