AstraZeneca and Russia announce collaboration on Covid-19 vaccine trials

New Delhi, Dec 11: Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) on Friday said pharma firm AstraZeneca has accepted its offer to use one of the two components of the Sputnik V vaccine in the latter''s clinical trials.

RDIF and Gamaleya Institute on November 23, 2020 had offered AstraZeneca to use one of the two components (human adenoviral vectors) of the Sputnik V vaccine in AstraZeneca''s clinical trials of its vaccine against COVID-19, Russia''s sovereign wealth fund said in a statement.

"AstraZeneca accepted RDIF''s proposal and will begin clinical trials of its vaccine in combination with Sputnik V''s human adenoviral vector type Ad26 by the end of 2020," it added.

This research will allow AstraZeneca''s scientists to study the possibility of boosting their vaccine''s efficacy through the application of this combined approach, RDIF said.

"The decision by AstraZeneca to carry out clinical trials using one of two vectors of Sputnik V in order to increase its own vaccine''s efficacy is an important step towards uniting efforts in the fight against the pandemic," RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev said.

Sputnik V is one of the most effective vaccines globally with over 90 per cent efficacy against coronavirus, RDIF said.