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Dec 11 (Reuters) - Britain's AstraZeneca signalled
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."
(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru and Andrew Osborn
in Moscow; editing by Patrick Graham)
