“The vaccine supply to Brazil is expected to begin in November 2020, after approval from Brazilian government regulators, who will take into account the results of a post-registration vaccine study. The agreement will also allow the vaccine to be shipped throughout Brazil in the future," the fund said.
The agreement underlines that many countries recognise the importance of having a human adenoviral vector drug in the coronavirus vaccine portfolio, a well-researched vaccine platform that has been proven safe through decades of research, including 75 publications in international scientific journals and over 250 clinical trials, according to the fund.
“The Government of the State of Bahia, in Brazil, is very pleased with the agreement signed with the Sovereign Wealth Fund of the Russian Federation, which will guarantee access to the Sputnik V vaccine for the Brazilian people, as soon as it is approved by the Brazilian national regulatory authorities. As it is a vaccine built using human adenovirus, which is one of the safest and most effective vaccine development platforms in the world, we believe that the results of the ongoing phase 3 clinical trials will confirm the data observed in phases 1 and 2," Dr. Fabio Vilas-Boas Pinto, Health Secretary of the State of Bahia, said speaking about the vaccine.
Kirill Dmitriev, the chief executive officer of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, reiterated that "Russia is a leader in the development of vaccines against coronavirus and uses safe technologies proven over time".
"Sputnik V is based on a proven human adenoviral vector platform while other coronavirus vaccines use novel platforms, namely monkey adenoviral vectors or mRNA. The recent developments in the global pharmaceutical industry with suspended trials of an experimental coronavirus vaccine show the importance of a diversified approach to vaccine supplies. The signings of agreements to supply Sputnik V internationally demonstrate many countries recognize that human adenovirus-based vaccines are an absolute must-have for their national drug portfolio, as this platform has proven safe and effective over decades. Clinical trials of the Russian vaccine have shown no serious adverse events, with Sputnik V generating a stable humoral and cellular immune response in 100% of participants in the clinical trials. In contrast, vaccines based on novel platforms have yet to prove their safety and currently have no data on carcinogenicity or effects on fertility. We are pleased to make such an important contribution in the fight against the pandemic through providing the safe and effective Sputnik V vaccine to our partners in Brazil”, Dmitiev explained.
The RDIF has announced an agreement for 32 million doses of Sputnik V with Mexico as well, with deliveries of the vaccine expected to begin in November.
Sputnik V was registered by the Russian Health Ministry on 11 August, becoming the first registered vaccine against COVID-19 in the world.
