The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), the country's sovereign wealth fund, and Stelis Biopharma, the biopharmaceutical division of Bengaluru-based Strides Pharma, have entered into a partnership to produce and supply a minimum of 200 million doses (enough to vaccinate 100 million people) of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against coronavirus.
The agreement between RDIF and Stelis Biopharma was reached under the aegis of Enso Healthcare LLP (part of Enso Group), RDIF's coordination partner for sourcing Sputnik V vaccine in India, as per a joint statement.
According to the statement, the parties intend to commence supplies of the vaccine from the third quarter of calendar 2021. Stelis will continue to work with the RDIF to provide additional supply volumes beyond the initial agreement.
Arun Kumar, founder of Strides Group, said, “We are delighted to partner with RDIF to make a substantial contribution towards providing global supply of the Sputnik V vaccine, which is one of the most efficacious approved vaccines commercially available.”
“The Russian vaccine with the efficacy of 91.6% is one of the best vaccines against coronavirus in the world. The significant vaccine volumes, which will be produced jointly with Stelis, will help to widen access to the vaccine on a global scale,” said Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund.
Sputnik V, the world’s first registered vaccine against the novel coronavirus, is now approved for use in over 50 countries. Sputnik V is a two-dose vaccine that uses two different human adenoviral vectors in the course of vaccination.
