RDIF, Panacea Biotec to produce 100 mn doses of Sputnik V vaccine in India per year

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and drug firm Panacea Biotec on Monday said they have agreed to produce 100 million doses per year of Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine in India.

Production of Sputnik V at Panacea Biotec sites will help facilitate global supply of Sputnik V to international partners of RDIF, a joint statement said.

''Cooperation with Panacea Biotec is an important step to produce the vaccine in India and to supply our international partners around the world,” Russian Direct Investment Fund CEO Kirill Dmitriev said.

Vaccine partnerships are the only way to overcome the pandemic, he added.

Panacea Biotec MD Rajesh Jain said, ''We are pleased to collaborate with RDIF to produce Sputnik V for global markets. Panacea Biotec brings decades of vaccine manufacturing and distribution know-how to scale-up Sputnik V supplies''.

Panacea Biotec will produce Sputnik V in its internationally accredited facilities· complying to strict GMP standards and prequalified by the World Health Organization (WHO), he added.

Efficacy of Sputnik V is 91.6 per cent as confirmed by the data published in the leading medical journal, Lancet. It has been registered in 59 countries globally, the statement said.

The price of Sputnik V is less than USD 10 per shot, it added.

RDIF has already partnered with other Indian pharma firms such as Hetero, Gland Pharma and Stelis Biopharma to produce millions of Sputnik V Vaccine in India.