TEHRAN -- Iran on Sunday 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 attended by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) chief Major General Hussein Salami, Iran’s Health Minister Saeed Namaki and other Iranian health officials.
“Our 16-month efforts have finally paid off and Noora vaccine has now been produced. During the last 4 to 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.
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.
After receiving the vaccine, the Leader thanked all those involved in the development of the homegrown vaccine, which was produced as part of a project led by the Headquarters for the Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order, a charitable organization headed by Muhammad Mokhber.
Ayatollah Khamenei thanked Mokhber and his colleagues as well as Health Minister Namaki and all of the country’s health workers who have been fighting the deadly COVID-19 virus for more than a year.