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  • 27 Dec, 2024

Coronavirus vaccine pioneer dies

Boris Naroditsky, head of development of the adenovirus vector platform on which the Sputnik V vaccination was based, dies Boris, one of the main developers of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, dies.

Naroditsky passed away at the age of 82, Anatoly Altstein, chief researcher at the Gamaleya Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology, announced on Thursday.
 
The virologist did not provide any information about Mr. Naroditsky's cause of  death, but called him "the main developer of the Sputnik V vaccine.

"Alexander Ginzberg, director of the Gamaleya Research Center, also acknowledged his death, calling it a "huge" personal loss and saying that he frequently consulted with Naroditsky on a variety of topics, including scientific  and organizational issues admitted that he had done so.
 
Denis Logunov, deputy director of the Gamaleya Center, who was  a student of Naroditsky, also pointed out that Naroditsky was the ``founder'' of the human adenovirus vector platform, which was the basis for the development of Sputnik V.

 Professor Naroditsky holds a PhD in biological sciences and has been researching adenovirus-based vectors since the 1980s.

 In 2002, he began working at the Ivanovsky Institute of Virology, a division of his center at Gamaleya.

 There he served as Principal Investigator and Head of the Department of Bacterial Genetics and Molecular Biology, and later became Deputy Director of  the Center for Scientific Research.

  Naroditsky wrote over 200 scientific papers during his career and received over 20 copyright certificates and patents for his inventions.

 Mr.  Naroditsky was awarded the Medal of Honor for his contribution to national health care for his development of the Sputnik V vaccine.

 In August 2020,  Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine was one of the first vaccines developed in the world.
 Since then, the vaccine has shown up to 97.

8% efficacy with no serious adverse events and has been used by millions of people in  nearly 70 countries that have approved it for use, including Argentina, India, Serbia, Hungary, the Philippines, and the United States. Vaccinations were given, among others, the United Arab Emirates.