Insta
Russia Seeks India's Help In Production Of Its Effective Covid-19 Vaccine Sputnik V
Covid-19 vaccine - representative image (Twitter)
Russia is looking to partner with India for production of its recently announced Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V, reports Economic Times.
Earlier this month, Russian President had announced that his country registered the world's first vaccine against Covid-19, claiming that it works "quite effectively" and forms a "stable immunity" against the disease.
The vaccine has been developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, along with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Russia's sovereign wealth fund.
RDIF chief executive officer Kirill Dmitriev while addressing an online press briefing on Thursday (20 August) said that partnering with India for the manufacturing of the Russian vaccine will enable the country in meeting the demand for it.
"The production of the vaccine is a very important issue. Currently, we are looking for a partnership with India. We believe that they are capable of producing the Gamaleya vaccine and it is very important to say that those partnerships to produce the vaccine will enable us to cover the demand that we have," Dmitriev was quoted as saying.
"We are planning to produce the vaccine in more than five countries and there is a very high demand from Asia, Latin America, Italy and other parts of the world regarding the delivery of the vaccine," he said.
According to the report, the Sputnik V vaccine consists of two shots that use different versions of adenoviruses -- virus types, some of which cause the common cold -- that the manufacturers have engineered to carry the gene for the surface protein of SARS-CoV-2 that causes Covid-19.
It should be noted that the Russian vaccine is yet to undergo phase 3 human clinical trials. However, the RDIF in a statement on Thursday said that tests of the "immunogenicity and safety of the Sputnik V vaccine" will begin next week involving more than 40,000 people.
It said the tests were the equivalent of the Phase 3 trials that other vaccines are undergoing.
