Covid-19: The Lancet publishes results of Phase Three trials of Sputnik V vaccine

The Lancet medical journal has published results of Phase Three clinical trials of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus confirming its high efficacy and safety, according to a press release by the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).

“The Gamaleya National Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund) announce that the Lancet, one of the world’s oldest and most respected medical journals, has published interim results of a Phase III clinical trial of Sputnik V, confirming the vaccine’s high efficacy and safety,” the statement said.

The Lancet Study

According to the RDIF, only four vaccine developers worldwide, including the Gamaleya National Research Center, published the results of Phase Three clinical trials in leading peer-reviewed medical journals.

According to Director of the Gamaleya National Research Center Alexander Gintsburg, the publication of internationally peer-reviewed data on the results of clinical trials of Sputnik V is a major success in the global fight against the pandemic. “Several vaccines have already been created based on human adenoviruses and this tool is one of the most promising for development of new vaccines in the future,” he noted.

In his turn, Head of the RDIF Kirill Dmitriev who is quoted in the press release, reported that only three vaccines worldwide, including Sputnik V, have efficacy of over 90%, while Sputnik V “outperforms them in terms of safety, ease of transportation due to storage requirements of +2 to +8 degrees Celsius and a more affordable price.”

The Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, the developer of Sputnik V, expects the duration of immunity provided by the vaccine will be over two years, Alexander Gintsburg, head of the center, told a press conference on Tuesday.

“We have a strong hope, which is confirmed by the already obtained results of clinical trials, that the vaccine will be able to provide immunity not for several months, or even a year, but for at least two years or more, which is the subject of our further research, of course,” he said.

Gintsburg noted that the adenovirus platform, the Sputnik V vaccine is based on, has once again showed its future outlook, reliability and safety.

Sources: RDIF – The lancet