Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine 95 per cent effective, to cost less than USD 20 in international market

Russia said that the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine will be two or more times cheaper than foreign vaccines based on mRNA technology with similar efficacy rates.

File Photo (Reuters)

Moscow: Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine efficacy is above 95 per cent, 42 days after the first dose and will cost less than $20 for the international market, the National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology and Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) announced on Tuesday (November 24, 2020).

"The preliminary data on volunteers on the 42nd day after the first dose (equivalent to 21 days after the second dose), when they have already formed a stable immune response, indicates the efficacy rate of the vaccine is above 95%," read the official statement.

The RDIF announced that the cost of the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine for international markets will be less than $10 per dose starting from February 2021, which is less than $20 for the two doses necessary to vaccinate one person. Notably, the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine is a two-dose vaccine.

"Sputnik V will be two or more times cheaper than foreign vaccines based on mRNA technology with similar efficacy rates," said the statement. 

This is to be noted that for the Russian citizens, vaccination with Sputnik V will be free of charge.

As per the protocol of Phase III clinical trials of the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, its interim efficacy is calculated at three statistically significant representative checkpoints - upon reaching 20, 39 and 78 cases of novel coronavirus infection among volunteers, both in the placebo group and in the group that received the vaccine.

The second interim analysis of the Sputnik V vaccine efficacy was carried out on the basis of 39 confirmed cases identified in the placebo group (31 cases) and in the vaccine group (8 cases). The ratio of the placebo group to the vaccinated group is 1 to 3.

Russia said that the next interim data analysis will be conducted upon reaching the third checkpoint of 78 confirmed coronavirus cases among the study participants. Subsequently, the final data analysis will be available by the end of Phase III clinical trials.

As of Tuesday, more than 22,000 volunteers were vaccinated with the first dose and more than 19,000 volunteers with the first and the second dose of the vaccine at 29 medical centers across Russia as part of the ongoing clinical trials. 

Currently, Phase III clinical trials are approved and are ongoing in Belarus, the UAE, Venezuela and other countries, as well as Phase II-III in India.

No unexpected adverse events were identified as part of the research to date. Although, some of those vaccinated had short-term minor adverse events such as pain at the injection point and flu-like symptoms including fever, weakness, fatigue, and headache.

"The data demonstrating high efficacy of the Sputnik V vaccine gives us hope that we will soon obtain the most important tool in the fight against the pandemic of the novel coronavirus infection," said Mikhail Murashko, Russian Health Minister.