OREANDA-NEWS. The Federal Medical-Biological Agency of Russia intends to complete preclinical trials of its coronavirus vaccine in the first quarter of 2021, the head of the institution Veronika Skvortsova said. After that, specialists will begin clinical trials, she added.

“Currently we are developing a recombinant vaccine, the action of which is realized not through the antibody… but predominantly through cellular immunity. At the preclinical research phase, we received an effectively working formulation, and now is the most crucial period for us. We hope very much to complete preclinical studies in the first quarter of next year and begin clinical studies,” Skvortsova explained at a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

In addition, the Federal Medical-Biological Agency plans to begin clinical trials of a direct-acting drug against COVID-19 before the beginning of the next year. According to Skvortsova, “if clinical trials confirm the effectiveness of this drug, it will be the first safe, effective, direct-acting antiviral drug that has no analogues in the world.”