TEHRAN – The researchers predict that the Iranian-Australian Spikogen vaccine will be effective against the coronavirus delta mutant, Payam Tabarsi, a researcher of the project, has announced.

The vaccine has proved to be effective against the British strain, he further stated.

The results of the second phase of the human test showed that this vaccine provides more than 80 percent immunity and produces good levels of antibodies, he highlighted.

The vaccine also has 87 percent of the ability to neutralize the virus, which is a very important issue, Tabarsi said.

The third phase of the human test has been completed and it is expected that the final results of this phase will be presented to the Ministry of Health within a month.

He estimated the monthly capacity of the Sinogen pharmaceutical company to produce the vaccine at three million doses.

Spikogen proved to be effective against the British strain. The first phase of the study was performed on volunteer Australians and received the necessary approval, the second phase was administrated to 400 Iranians, which has had no serious side effects, Tabarsi said.

Vaccines against viruses can be divided into three main categories: live attenuated, inactivated/killed, and subunit vaccines. Recombinant protein subunit vaccines are composed of at least 1 type of viral antigen. These vaccines are significantly more secure than live attenuated and inactivated vaccines.

Mass vaccination against COVID-19 started on Iranian citizens with the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine on February 9.

While Iran continues efforts to mass-produce local candidates, over 18 million doses of foreign vaccines have already been imported and others are expected soon.

Iran is also producing vaccines jointly with two countries of Cuba and Russia.

Homegrown vaccines

Made by researchers at the Headquarters for Executing the Order of the Imam, COVIRAN BAREKAT was unveiled on December 29, 2020, and received the license for public use on June 14.

It proved effective against Indian strain, according to Hojjat Niki-Maleki, head of the information center of Headquarters for Executing the Order of the Imam.

Eleven countries from Asia and South America, and a European country have asked for importing COVIRAN vaccine, Hassan Jalili, the vaccine’s production manager, said in June.

According to the Food and Drug Administration, 14 vaccines are being domestically developed in the country which are in different study phases.

Pastu Covac, developed jointly by the Pasteur Institute of Iran and Cuba's Finlay Vaccine Institute, is another homegrown vaccine, which has received the emergency use license, after COVIRAN.

FB/MG