"RDIF ... and Panacea Biotec, one of the leading vaccine and pharmaceutical producers in India, announce cooperation to produce 100 million doses per year of Sputnik V, the world’s first registered vaccine against coronavirus," the fund said in a press release.
RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev noted that cooperation with Panacea Biotec would be an "important step to produce the vaccine in India and to supply our international partners around the world."
"We are pleased to collaborate with RDIF to produce Sputnik V for global markets. Panacea Biotec brings decades of vaccine manufacturing and distribution know-how to scale-up Sputnik V supplies. Panacea Biotec will produce Sputnik V in its internationally accredited facilities complying to strict GMP standards and prequalified by WHO [World Health Organization]," Panacea Biotec Managing Director Rajesh Jain said.
Sputnik V was registered by the Russian Health Ministry in August 2020, becoming the world's first vaccine against the coronavirus. The drug's effectiveness after the third phase of the clinical trials was proved to be nearly 92 percent, according to trial results released The Lancet medical journal. The vaccine has so far been approved for use in 59 countries.