Iran has unveiled another homegrown coronavirus vaccine, a day after it started the domestic production of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine at an Iranian company.
The recombinant Noora vaccine, produced by Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, was put on display during a ceremony on Sunday in the presence of Chief Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Hossein Salami, Iran’s Health Minister Saeed Namaki as well as other Iranian health officials.
“Our 16-month efforts have finally paid off and Noora vaccine has now been produced. During the last 4 and 5 months, vaccine studies were performed on mice, rabbits and monkeys, and the results of the studies were presented to the Ministry of Health,” Hassan Abolghasemi, president of Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, said at the ceremony.
He noted that that all laboratory tests of the vaccine have been carried out by the Food and Drug Administration of Iran.
“The Noora vaccine, which starts its first clinical phase today, is a recombinant vaccine. It has few side effects and offers high levels of protection. We expect to receive the license for local use from the Ministry of Health immediately after completing phases 1, 2 and 3 of clinical tests,” Abolghasemi said.
“We hope to produce one million doses of the vaccine at the first stage, and quickly increase the production to 3 million doses per month,” he added.
On Saturday, Iran’s Actoverco pharmaceutical firm produced a test batch of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund said Iran is the first country in the Middle East to produce the vaccine against COVID-19, adding it will help accelerate vaccinations.
Iran approved Sputnik V for domestic use in January.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Friday morning received his first dose of the CovIran Barekat vaccine, which was approved for emergency mass application by the country’s Health Ministry earlier this month.
Source: Press TV
