TEHRAN – The results of pre-clinical studies of “Pastu Covad” vaccine, the first Iranian-made coronavirus vaccine based on adenovirus, have been published in one of the prestigious international journals.

Vaccine production is done with different technologies. The first generation of vaccines relies on the complete virus particle, including the live, attenuated, and killed virus. The next generation of vaccines relies on recombinant proteins, and finally, a new generation of technology vaccines are developed based on adenovirus.

Adenoviruses are medium-sized, nonenveloped viruses with an icosahedral nucleocapsid containing a double-stranded DNA genome. Adenoviruses can cause cold-like symptoms, fever, sore throat, bronchitis, pneumonia, diarrhea, and pink eye.

Adenovirus-based vaccine production technology, which has important features such as significant efficacy as well as the ability to produce and redesign rapidly, is available in a few countries.

In Iran, domestic vaccines are protein-based or inactivated vaccines. The Pasteur Institute has previously managed to develop and produce Pastu Covac vaccine in cooperation with Cuba's Finlay Vaccine Institute, which has a unique technology of conjugate protein.

In September 2020, Pasteur Institute started to develop Pastu Covad. Preclinical studies of this vaccine have been performed in the country and its documents have been sent to the Food and Drug Administration for review.

The results of this study, recently published in the prestigious international journal of Vaccine, show that the vaccine has the ability to stimulate the cellular immune system against coronavirus and to produce neutralizing antibodies against new strains such as Wuhan, Lambda, Delta, and Omicron.

The localization of this valuable technology in the country is of great importance because, in addition to having advantages such as easy mass production and low production costs, this achievement can easily be used in the prevention and treatment of other diseases and cancers.

Domestically-made vaccines

Iran is the sixth country in the world and the first country in West Asia to gain the ability to produce the Coronavirus vaccine.

Considering that five coronavirus vaccines have so far been produced domestically, Mohammad Reza Shanehsaz, the former head of the Food and Drug Administration, said in June 2021 that Iran is one of the few countries that has all vaccine production platforms.

A total of 21 knowledge-based companies are operating to produce 50 million doses of vaccine monthly and 600 million doses annually, IRNA quoted Bahram Daraei as saying on March 9.

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

COVIRAN is the first vaccine in West Asia that is in the process of global registration.

Developed by the Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute, Razi Cov Pars is the second Iranian-made vaccine that started the clinical trial on February 27.

Moreover, the Iranian-Australian Spikogen vaccine and Pastu Covac, are other vaccines, which have received the emergency use license and are being used in mass vaccination.

Health Minister Bahram Einollahi has said the country is currently exporting domestically-made vaccines for coronavirus to ten African countries.

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