Russia is one of the nations most affected by the coronavirus pandemic in the world. (Archive photo)
Moscow:
Clinical trials of the world‘s first coronavirus vaccine on volunteers have been completed at Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, the Sputnik news agency quoted an official as saying.
The first Moscow state medical university, Sechenov, began clinical trials of the vaccine produced by the Russian Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology Gamalei on June 18.
“Sechenov University has successfully completed testing of volunteers for the world‘s first coronavirus vaccine,” said Vadim Tarasov, director of the Institute for Translational Medicine and Biotechnology. The first group of volunteers will be released on Wednesday and the second on July 20, he added.
According to Alexander Lukashev, director of the Institute of medical parasitology, tropical and vectorial diseases of Sechenov University, the objective of this stage of the study was to show the safety of the vaccine for human health, what has been done with success.
“The safety of the vaccine is confirmed. This corresponds to the safety of the vaccines currently on the market,” Lukashev told Sputnik.
The new vaccine development plan is already determined by the developer’s strategy, including the complexity of the epidemiological situation with the virus and the possibility of increasing production, added Lukashev.
“Sechenov University in a pandemic situation acted not only as an educational institution but also as a scientific and technological research center capable of participating in the creation of products as important and complex as drugs … We worked with this vaccine, starting with preclinical studies and developing protocols, and clinical trials are currently underway, “noted Tarasov.
