MOSCOW, February 20. / TASS /. Federal Research Center for Research and Development of Immunobiological Preparations named after V. I. MP Chumakova, the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) plans to start researching the Kovivac vaccine in April for its use among children and people over 60, Director General of the Center, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Aydar Ishmukhametov told TASS.
"The Ministry of Health has registered the Kovivac vaccine, and we plan that, as part of the third phase, in April this year, we will begin clinical trials of our vaccine for children (under 18 years old - TASS note) and for people over 60 years old," he said.
Head of the Center. Chumakova said that "after receiving the registration certificate, the already developed batch of drugs will have to go through quality control within a month."
“Our vaccine may go into civil circulation as early as March. It will be intended for use in people from 18 to 60 years old. Its use in risk groups, that is, people with diabetes, autoimmune disorders and other diseases, will be coordinated with the Ministry of Health just under the protocol of the third phase of research, "he said.
According to the head of the center. Chumakov, several million doses of the Kovivac vaccine may be produced by the end of the year.
Whole Virion Vaccines
Ishmukhametov believes that whole-virion vaccines against coronavirus, the first of which is Kovivac, will become the main ones in the world in six months.
“I am absolutely sure that six months later, maybe earlier, all the same, whole-virion vaccines will dominate, just as it has happened in other types of vaccines and other developments. Probably the achievement is that none of the six largest world companies that control 100% of the vaccine market in the world, and who have always worked in this way, have not yet released whole virion vaccines, "Ishmukhametov said.
He noted that the developed vaccine is a classic whole-virion vaccine, and before the pandemic, 100% of vaccines were produced in this way. Whole-virion vaccines use either artificially weakened viruses that cannot cause disease, or viruses that have already been killed (inactivated).
"It has an understandable economy, an understandable platform, understandable complications and, in fact, the situation with it is more predictable. It took us a year, probably these days it is just a year since we started this work," the scientist added.
About the Center. Chumakova
The Federal Research Center was established on the basis of the Institute of Poliomyelitis and Viral Encephalitis of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences. The founder and first director of the Institute (until 1972) was Academician of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences Mikhail Chumakov.
The center is one of the world's leading scientific institutions in the field of medical virology, including the study of enterovirus infections, tick-borne encephalitis, coronavirus and viral hepatitis. The center has its own biotechnological production of vaccines for the vaccination calendar.
The center has developed its own inactivated whole-virion vaccine against coronavirus infection. The drug has already successfully passed preclinical trials, and is currently undergoing clinical trials. Whole-virion vaccines use either artificially weakened viruses that cannot cause disease, or viruses that have already been killed (inactivated).