AstraZeneca, in a statement on Friday, said it was considering how it could assess combinations of different vaccines, and would soon begin exploring with Russia's Gamaleya Institute, which developed Sputnik V, whether two common cold virus-based vaccines could be successfully combined. However, its Russian arm said it would start to enrol adults aged 18 years and older to the trial. The prospective tie-up comes as AstraZeneca, once seen as a frontrunner in the vaccine race, prepares for further tests to confirm whether its shot could be 90% effective, potentially slowing its rollout. TWITTER DIPLOMACYThe partnership came about after the developers of Sputnik V suggested on Twitter last month that AstraZeneca try the combination after the British drugmaker released interim results from its late-stage trial. The news came as Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline said clinical trials of their COVID-19 vaccine showed an insufficient immune response in older people.

Source: bd News24 December 11, 2020 12:11 UTC