Sputnik V Vaccine Expected to Receive WHO and EMA Approval by Fall

An employee is holding the Russian-made COVID-19 vaccine 'Sputnik V,' which is being contract-manufactured at the Korea Chorus factory in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The World Health Organization (WHO) is expected to approve the Russian-made COVID-19 vaccine 'Sputnik V' around this fall, according to the Russian developer.

On the 13th (local time), according to local media, Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which supports the development of Sputnik V and is responsible for overseas supply and contract manufacturing, stated this during an appearance on Indian TV.

He said, "We are expecting (WHO approval) around September to October," and affirmed, "There is already sufficient positive information about Sputnik V." He added, "The WHO inspection team has already visited Russia once," and "Another inspection team will come, so we expect approval around the fall."

CEO Dmitriev also predicted that approval from the European Medicines Agency (EMA), one of the other key pharmaceutical evaluation agencies in the European Union (EU), could be possible within this fall. He said, "We are having productive talks with the EMA," and "We expect approval around the fall."

WHO and EMA are currently conducting vaccine approval reviews based on inspections of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine research and production facilities.

Meanwhile, in a press briefing on the same day, CEO Dmitriev stated that the clinical trials of heterologous vaccination between Sputnik V and AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccines, ongoing in several countries including Azerbaijan, are nearing completion, and the results will be released by the end of this month.

Both Sputnik V and AZ vaccines are vector-based vaccines manufactured by inserting the genetic material of the COVID-19 virus into harmless human adenoviruses that cause the common cold. However, Sputnik V uses human adenovirus type 26 and type 5 as vectors for the first and second doses respectively, whereas AZ uses chimpanzee adenovirus type 5 as the vector for both the first and second doses.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.