Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology

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Interest ofAndrey Botikov, Riley Waggaman

Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology is a Russian research vaccine institute which is headquartered in Moscow and is currently under the purview of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. The Gamaleya Research Institute was founded in 1891 and was named after the prominent Russian scientist Nikolay Gamaleya who was known as a pioneer in microbiology and vaccine research in Russia. The GRIEM is currently developing a vaccine in collaboration with the 48th Central Research Institute of the Ministry of Defence and with the Vektor Institute to curb the COVID-19 pandemic.

History

It was founded in 1891 as a private chemical microscopic and bacterial laboratory and was later transformed into a private chemical bacteriological institute of F. M. Blumenthal. The Institute was nationalised in 1919.

Researches

Ebola

In May 2017, the GRIEM announced that it would deliver 1000 doses of an independently produced vaccine, Gam-Evac-Combi, to Guinea for Ebola testing. According to a Xinhua report, it is the only officially authorised and approved Ebola vaccine for clinical use to date.[1]

COVID-19 vaccine

Early in 2020 the Gamaleya Research Institute began research and development into a potential COVID-19/Vaccine. In May 2020, the GRIEM announced that it had developed the vaccine, which does not have any side effects.[2]

The project was funded by Russia's National Property Fund. Phase 1 of COVID-19 trials were completed on 18 June 2020 and Phase 2 was successfully completed in July 2020.[3] Human trials had begun on 18 June, with nine volunteers on the main vaccine and nine trialling the booster dose version. In mid-July the institute director, Alexander Ginsburg, said "Around 14-15 August, I hope, the small amount of vaccine that we should be able to produce will enter public circulation", which was reported as equivalent to a Phase III trial with vaccinated people remaining under medical supervision.[4]

On 11 August 2020, Science Magazine reported that Russia had "approved" the world’s first COVID-19 vaccine, as the nation’s Ministry of Health issued what’s called a registration certificate for a vaccine candidate that has been tested in just 76 people. The certificate allows the vaccine, developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute in Moscow, to be given to “a small number of citizens from vulnerable groups,” including medical staff and the elderly. But the certificate stipulates that the vaccine cannot be used widely until 1 January 2021, presumably after larger clinical trials have been completed.

GRIEM has developed vaccines before, and Mikhail Murashko, the Russian minister of health, said in a government press release that the COVID-19 vaccine showed “high efficacy and safety” and there were no serious side effects. The same release suggested the vaccine would confer 2 years of immunity to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. That estimate is apparently based on vaccines GRIEM has made with similar technology.

Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly endorsed the use of the Gam-COVID-Vac Lyo vaccine, which is dubbed "Sputnik V” saying it had “passed all necessary steps” and noting that one of his adult daughters had received it. (Putin has not clearly acknowledged his children in public, but he does sometimes refer to them; one is a medical doctor in Moscow.) Putin, who apparently made these comments at a government meeting, added, “I hope we can start a massive release of this vaccine soon.”

The Russian registration certificate gives few details about the vaccine, which is being manufactured by Binnopharm in Zelenograd.[5] The company says it can produce 1.5 million doses of the product per year and hopes to expand its manufacturing capacity. The Sputnik V website says a Phase III efficacy trial involving more than 2000 people will begin on 12 August in Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, and Mexico. Mass production of the vaccine is slated to begin in September.[6]

On 12 August 2020, Moon of Alabama reported that Western media had indulged in an anti-Russian frenzy to sow fear and doubt about the vaccine based on a willful misinterpretation of the Russian announcement: "Russia has not approved a vaccine against Covid-19 and it is not skipping large-scale clinical trials."[7]

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References

  1. ↑ "Russia to deliver Ebola vaccines to Guinea by end of June: Health Ministry - Xinhua"
  2. ↑ "Russia plans to start producing coronavirus vaccine in September
  3. ↑ "Russian University Says It Has Finished Human Trials For Covid-19 Vaccine"
  4. ↑ "Russia may start Phase III trial of COVID-19 vaccine in mid-August: RIA"
  5. ↑ Covid-19: "Russia approves vaccine without large scale testing or published results"
  6. ↑ "Russia’s approval of a COVID-19 vaccine is less than meets the press release"
  7. ↑ "'Western' Media Falsely Claim That Russia's Covid-19 Vaccine Is Ready To Go"
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