In addition to India, the RDIF says that Sputnik V will also be produced in Brazil, China and South Korea.
One of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine developers announced on Friday that India-based drugmaker Hetero will produce more than 100 million doses of the jab.
“Hetero, one of India’s leading generic pharmaceutical companies, has agreed to produce in India more than 100 million doses per year of the world’s first registered vaccine against the new coronavirus infection: Sputnik V,” said the Investment Fund Direct from Russia (RDIF) in a statement, adding that production was expected to start in early 2021.
Earlier this week, Russia said interim results of Sputnik V clinical trials showed the vaccine to be 95 percent effective, similar to other international vaccine manufacturers who have also published test results showing efficacy rates. 90 percent or more.
Russia also announced that the Sputnik V vaccine will be priced at $ 10 per dose in international markets, costing less than some other registered COVID-19 vaccines.
Russia was the first country to announce the registration of a coronavirus vaccine in August, dubbed Sputnik V in honor of the Soviet-era satellite, but it did so before large-scale clinical trials.
Currently, the third and final phase of trials is underway, with some 40,000 volunteers involved in blind trials of the vaccine using two different human adenovirus vectors.
According to Friday’s statement, its use “allows for a stronger and longer-term immune response” compared to vaccines that use the same vector in both doses.
Third-phase trials are also underway in the former Soviet republic of Belarus, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela, among other countries.
In addition to India, the RDIF says that Sputnik V will also be produced in Brazil, China and South Korea.
“I am confident that Sputnik V should become an integral part of the national vaccine portfolio of all countries willing to protect their populations from the coronavirus,” RDIF chief Kirill Dmitriyev said in Friday’s statement.
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