Doctors involved in the trials conducted “two open, non-randomized phase 1/2 studies in two hospitals in Russia” on 76 healthy volunteers aged 18 to 60, according to the Lancet article. He added that the vaccine formulations tested were “safe and well tolerated”.
The vaccine has been dubbed “Sputnik V” in Russia, but has come under criticism from the West amid questions over how quickly it was approved and the lack of data so far.
However, Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the Russian sovereign wealth fund RDIF which supports the vaccine, hailed The Lancet study as validation of his country’s efforts in an interview with CNBC.
“We had a lot of interest in publishing the Russian vaccine (with) in The Lancet, which is one of the leading Western medicine magazines,” Dmitriev told CNBC’s Julianna Tatelbaum. “It’s very important to share information with the world… the results have been very good but basically the study has shown that there is a very strong cellular immune response and antibodies. ”
He added that Russia was “on track” to deliver vaccine exports by November.
The Lancet is one of the oldest medical journals in the world, with editorial offices in New York, London and Beijing.
This is news in development and will be updated shortly.
