ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) - Russian pharmaceutical company Petrovax is set to launch Phase 3 clinical trials of Ad5-nCOV, one of China's COVID-19 vaccine candidates, Mikhail Tsyferov, the head of Petrovax, said on Monday.
Phase 3 trials of the vaccine are planned to be conducted overseas and Russia has been among the states that have expressed their readiness to participate in the tests. Ad5-nCOV was the first vaccine to undergo clinical trials on humans in China back in March and phases 1 and 2 were conducted domestically. Chinese media reported on Sunday that the CanSino Biologics company, a co-creator of the vaccine alongside the country's military research academy, has received an invention patent for it from the authorities.
"Petrovax has obtained permission from the Russian Ministry of Health to conduct a phase 3 clinical trial of the Chinese vaccine candidate Ad5-nCov in Russia," Tsyferov said.
Petrovax has planned to recruit volunteers in health care institutions for participating in the multinational efficacy trial of Ad5-nCOV.
According to Petrovax's head, COVID-19 response is an absolute priority for the company in 2020.
"We strive to apply longstanding experience accumulated by our company in developing and producing vaccines for the benefit of the society. Back in 2009, the company was involved in the development and supply of an influenza vaccine needed amid an influenza pandemic. Today we witnessed how the coronavirus pandemic had swept across the globe, therefore, we must work together with our international partners. This is an excellent example of an international partnership that gains momentum and includes more and more countries," Tsyferov stated.
Tsyferov clarified that the vaccine was administered to volunteers in a single dose that had been proven to be safe and had elicited an immune response in most subjects.
"The vaccine is unique. It is administered to volunteers once. This sets it apart from other competing vaccines, which are based on two-dose administration. A single injection is safe and will speed up the process of clinical trials, bring closer the time of its registration and supply to the market for general use," the president stated.
Once the vaccine is registered in Russia, Petrovax will be able to produce it at its facilities in the Moscow Region. The firm plans to market the vaccine domestically and within the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
Meanwhile, Russia registered its own pioneer COVID-19 vaccine last Tuesday. The vaccine, created by the Gamaleya Institute with support from the Defense Ministry and the Russian Direct Investment Fund, has passed Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials, and Phase 3 trials involving around 2,000 people are currently underway.
