Sputnik V dubs UK media reports claiming Russia 'stole' vaccine technology as 'fake news'

The manufacturers of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine have denied the United Kingdom media reports claiming that Russia's COVID vaccine was allegedly based on research from Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. In the press release, the Sputnik V makers have informed that Sputnik V and AstraZeneca use different platforms. The vaccine manufacturer in the press release called the news report another "fake news" and "blatant lie" based on anonymous sources. 

Sputnik V refutes UK media reports

In a tweet, Sputnik V makers informed that Sputnik V is based on a human adenoviral platform that was designed seven years ago. On the other hand, the AstraZeneca vaccine is based on chimpanzee adenovirus which is completely different from the platform used by them in making the Sputnik V vaccine. Sputnik V vaccine called the news report about "stolen technology" as "old fake news". The vaccine developer in the press release has informed that the story, reported by The Sun tabloid, has been 'pushed' by those who are against the success of one of the world's most effective vaccine against COVID. Furthermore, the vaccine developers team stated that these attacks undermine the vaccination effort against COVID. 

"The story, originated by The Sun tabloid, is pushed by those opposing the success of one of the world’s most effective and safe vaccines against COVID-19 and we find such attacks highly unethical as they undermine the global vaccination effort," Sputnik V said in the press release.

As per The Sun, Russia had stolen the AstraZeneca vaccine formula and had used it to create their vaccine. Reportedly, the important data including the blueprint of the AstraZeneca COVID vaccine was stolen by a foreign agent in person. However, the Russian vaccine manufacturer in the press release asserted that AstraZeneca used chimpanzee adenoviral vector for its vaccine. Furthermore, they informed that the Sputnik V vaccine is based on a human adenoviral platform and the Gamaleya Center has used the same human adenoviral platform for earlier researches against Ebola and MERS. They added that the Russian vaccine had a mix-and-match combo approach, and on the other hand, AstraZeneca had used single and same vector twice. Notably, the Sputnik V team and AstraZeneca are conducting joint clinical trials on the combo use of the two vaccines and have issued information on safety and efficacy. 

"The Russian vaccine is unique among all vaccines against COVID in using heterogenous boosting (two different vectors, Ad26 and Ad5, for the two shots to achieve stronger and longer-lasting immunity) or mix-and-match combo approach, while AstraZeneca uses one and the same vector twice," Sputnik V said in the press release.

Unlike for some other vaccines in use today, Sputnik V has excellent safety profile with very few serious adverse events reported vs other vaccines and no cases of myocarditis or cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT)," the vaccine manufacturer added in the press release. 

Image: PTI