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The Bahia state government signed an agreement to conduct phase 3 clinical trials of the Russian covid-19 Sputnik V vaccine and plans to purchase 50 million doses for distribution in Brazil, authorities said today.
Governor Rui Costa (PT) said that on Tuesday (8) a confidentiality agreement was signed to formalize the tests, and that Bahia will receive 500 initial doses once the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) approves the test protocol.
Russia promotes Sputnik as the world’s first registered coronavirus vaccine, although phase 3 testing has yet to be completed.
Costa said the federal government should do more to establish international partnerships to aid vaccine studies being developed to combat the pandemic.
If the studies, which are expected to start in October, are successful, Bahia will seek to commercialize the Russian vaccine in Brazil through its pharmaceutical research center Bahiafarma, according to state health secretary Fábio Villas-Boas.
A Bahia government source said the state hopes to commit tomorrow to buy 50 million doses of Sputnik V.
The Russian vaccine is being developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute in Moscow and commercialized by the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which last month closed an agreement with the State of Paraná to test and produce the vaccine locally.
