ASTRAZENECA TO TEST COMBINING COVID VACCINE WITH RUSSIA'S SPUTNIK V

 Reuters 11 December 2020

A sign is pictured outside the AstraZeneca factory in Liverpool north west England on July 20, 2020. (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Dec 11 (Reuters) - Britain's AstraZeneca signaled on Friday it would investigate combining its own experimental COVID-19 vaccine shot with Russia's Sputnik V, a move Russian scientists have suggested could sharply boost efficacy.

The developers of Sputnik V last month used Twitter to suggest AstraZeneca try the combination.

They said it was worth experimenting with the Russian model and using two different shots rather than the same ones.

"Sputnik V is happy to share one of its two human adenoviral vectors with AstraZeneca to increase the efficacy of (the) AstraZeneca vaccine. Using two different vectors for two vaccine shots will result in higher efficacy than using the same vector for two shots," they said on Nov. 23.

In its statement on Friday, AstraZeneca said it was considering how it can assess combinations of different vaccines, and would soon begin exploring with Russia's Gamaleya Institute, which developed Sputnik V, whether two adenovirus-based vaccines can be successfully combined.

Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia's RDIF sovereign wealth fund, which has funded Sputnik, said:

"This shows the strength of Sputnik V technology and our willingness and desire to partner with other vaccines to fight against COVID together."