RDIF, Virchow Biotech sign agreement to produce 200 million doses of Sputnik V vaccine

Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and Virchow Biotech announced an agreement to produce up to 200 million doses of Sputnik V vaccine in India. The technology transfer is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2021 followed by full-scale commercial production of Sputnik V, RDIF and Virchow Biotech said in a joint statement. Virchow Biotech capacities will help facilitate the global supply of Sputnik V to international partners of RDIF, it added.

“The agreement with Virchow Biotech is an important step to facilitate the full-scale local production of the vaccine in India and to supply our international partners globally,” RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev said. According to the statement, the efficacy of Sputnik V is 91.6 per cent as confirmed by the data published in the Lancet.

“We are glad to sign a cooperation agreement with RDIF to produce the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine. Virchow’s proven capabilities in large scale drug substance manufacturing should help meet the global demand for this vaccine”, Virchow Biotech MD Tummuru Murali said.