MOSCOW, May 14. /TASS/. The Vector state research center in Novosibirsk will complete pre-clinical studies of vaccine prototypes against the novel coronavirus in June and expects to register the ready-made vaccine in September, Center CEO Rinat Maksyutov said at a meeting with the Russian president on genetic technologies on Thursday.
"In June, we are completing the pre-clinical studies of the efficiency and safety of the finished pharmaceutical form of vaccines in a minimum amount sufficient for switching to clinical studies: the first and second phase involving 300 volunteers," he said.
"Following your instruction of April 15 this year to cut the term of introducing the vaccine for the prevention of the novel coronavirus infection, we expect to register this vaccine already in September this year," the Vector head said, addressing the Russian president.
The Vector research institute has completed the laboratory tests of vaccine prototypes on sensitive animals. Following their results, three promising preparations have been determined, Maksyutov explained.
Thus, one synthetic vaccine and the vaccine based on the flu virus will be produced by Vector while the third vaccine based on the vesicular stomatitis virus will be developed by the center’s industrial partner, he said.
In late December 2019, Chinese officials notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, in central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus - named COVID-19 by the WHO - have been reported in every corner of the globe, including Russia.
On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. According to the latest statistics, over 4,442,000 people have been infected worldwide and more than 298,000 deaths have been reported. In addition, so far, over 1,668,000 individuals have recovered from the illness across the globe.
To date, a total of 252,245 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 53,530 patients having recovered from the virus. Russia’s latest data indicates 2,305 fatalities nationwide. Earlier, the Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation.