What will Spallanzani and Gamaleya do on Sputnik
Research, study, data and funding: all the details on the memorandum of understanding between the Lazio Region, the Lazzaro Spallanzani Institute and the Gamaleya Institute on the Russian Sputnik vaccine
At Spallanzani the opportunity to study Spuntik V, the anti Covid-19 vaccine developed by the Gamaleya institute. The large database of the Lazzaro Spallanzani Institute in Rome, an Italian center active in the study of infectious diseases, goes to Russia. These are the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Lazio Region, the Lazzaro Spallanzani Institute and the Gamaleya Institute. All the details.
THE MEMORANDUM
The Lazio Region approved the Memorandum scheme signed between the Regional Health Councilor, Alessio D'Amato, the director of Spallanzani in Rome, Francesco Vaia, the director of Gamaleya, Alexander Gintsburg, and the director general of the Russian Investment Fund. direct, Kirill Dmitriev. The agreement will give the green light to an exchange of information and biological materials.
I STUDY
The Spallanzani institute in Rome, in particular, will launch the study on the Sputnik vaccine , with the aim of establishing whether the Russian drug can obtain the green light for use in Italy, becoming a new weapon against Covid and its variants. , and whether it can be used as a second dose as an alternative to medicines for which some adverse reactions have been reported.
WHAT THE RUSSIANS WILL PROVIDE
The Russians will share, with Spallanzani, the sera from subjects who received Sputnik V in Russia. Spallanzani is also optionally given "the availability of obtaining serial samples over time such as those obtained from volunteers enrolled in clinical trials conducted in Russia", writes Repubblica , who has viewed the Memorandum.
TO THE RUSSIANS THE DATABASE OF SPALLANZANI
In exchange, however, the Russians will have access to the extensive database of the National Institute for Infectious Diseases. Not a small database, if we consider, as specified in the agreement, that "Inmi manages one of the largest biological banks in the European Union for viral agents" and that "legally preserves 120 viral strains of Sars- Cov-2 ”, including those of the English and Brazilian variants.
The Italian institute, then, can “through collaboration with other institutions, have access to other variants”, including the South African one.
THE FINANCING
Each research activity must be financed: Rome and Moscow will seek funding, jointly, at national and international level. The research will be conducted, “on the basis of the autonomous availability of funds to be dedicated to the program, as well as other resources” acquired also by resorting to specific sponsorships. And jointly, Rome and Moscow will ask for "national and international subsidies".
THE REPUBLIC QUESTIONS
But funding aside, the memorandum leaves a bit of a bad taste in the mouth. With the approval "details emerge that raise some questions": from the exchange currency (data) to research.
“Faced with a slow vaccination campaign due to a lack of vaccines, for some time the council of Nicola Zingaretti and in particular the regional councilor for health Alessio D'Amato have been pushing for the Russian one. A position shared by the director of Spallanzani, Francesco Vaia. The Russians themselves, moreover, have been looking for pharmaceutical companies in Lazio for months to produce Sputnik and, after attempts made by various mediators, some entrepreneurs have tried to make agreements directly with Moscow ”, writes Repubblica.
PROBLEMS AND DISPUTES
In the Memorandum it is also specified that "in the event of any dispute or difference of opinion", the two realities will undertake an amicable resolution. "Failure to resolve disputes amicably involves the resolution of the memorandum of understanding".
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/sanita/cosa-faranno-spallanzani-e-gamaleya-su-sputnik/ on Thu, 15 Apr 2021 12:28:03 +0000.