OF THE
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UK's AstraZeneca to team up with creators of Russia's Sputnik V on Covid-19 vaccine trials, cites potential 'wider protection'
11 Dec, 2020 10:01
British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has announced a partnership with the team behind the Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine to explore the potential of combining its own experimental formula with the pioneering Russian product.
The agreement, revealed on Friday morning, came after the Russian scientists took to Twitter to propose that AstraZeneca try the combination. They said it was worth experimenting with the model preferred by Moscow researchers and using two different types of injection, rather than relying on the same one twice, as AstraZeneca has done previously.
In a statement to the press, the British company unveiled "a clinical trial programme to assess the safety and immunogenicity of a combination of AZD1222, developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, and Sputnik V, developed by the Russian Gamaleya Research institute."
They added that "combinations of different Covid-19 vaccines may be an important step in generating wider protection through a stronger immune response and better accessibility."
Responding to the news, the Russian Direct Investment Fund, which financed the Gamaleya Institute's research, wrote that it was "an example of Russia's proactive approach: it has not only created one of the world's most effective vaccines to date against the coronavirus, but is ready to share Sputnik V vectors with those willing to produce vaccines using the two-vector technology."
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The UK media has previously drawn criticism for its coverage of Sputnik V. Earlier this week, the BBC reported that it had been "rushed out to wary Russians," while remaining far more positive about the start of immunizations in the country using US pharma giant Pfizer's vaccine. It remains to be seen how the Western media will cover the news that the UK's flagship formula is turning to the East in a bid to improve its efficacy.
Only our Russian Trolls are benevolent altruists !