MOSCOW — The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Russia"s sovereign wealth fund, the Gamaleya National Center, AstraZeneca and R-Pharm have signed an agreement aimed at the development and implementation of a clinical research program. The program will assess the immunogenicity and safety of the combined use of one of the components of the Sputnik V vaccine developed by the Gamaleya Center, and one of the components of the AZD1222 vaccine, developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford. The agreement was announced on a video-conference with Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia. The parties have also agreed to develop scientific and business relations and explore the possibilities for joint use of the Sputnik V vaccine and the AZD1222 vaccine in order to create more effective and long-term immunization against potential new coronavirus infections. Clinical trials of the combination of AZD1222 vaccine with Sputnik V"s human adenoviral vector type Ad26 will begin soon. R-Pharm will be among the organizations funding the trial. Sputnik V is among the world"s most effective and safe vaccines due to its unique technology combining two different human adenoviral vectors providing for a stronger and longer-term immune response compared to vaccines using the same component for both inoculations. The regimen with two different adenoviral vectors for a prime and a boost immunization is a unique and ground-breaking discovery of the Gamaleya Center scientists. It helps to completely avoid immunity to the first vector, which is formed after the first inoculation, and thus to raise efficacy and create long-term immunity. This regimen is one of the reasons why the vaccine shows efficacy of over 90%, with 100% efficacy in severe cases. Among the leading COVID-19 vaccines only Sputnik V is using the two-vector technology. — PRNewswire