The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and Stelis Biopharma, the biopharmaceutical division of Strides, a global pharmaceutical company headquartered in India, have partnered to produce and supply a minimum of 200 million doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19, sufficient to vaccinate 100 million people.
Sputnik V is now approved for use in over 50 countries. Sputnik V is a two-dose vaccine which uses two different human adenoviral vectors in the course of vaccination.
The vaccine demonstrates a 91.6% efficacy rate as confirmed by a peer-reviewed study published in The Lancet, which found the vaccine offers consistent and strong protective effect across all participant age groups.
The parties intend to commence supplies from the third quarter of 2021. Stelis will also continue to work with the RDIF to provide additional supply volumes beyond the initial agreement.
Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, said: “We are delighted to announce our agreement with Stelis Biopharma for a significant capacity of Sputnik V. The Russian vaccine with efficacy of 91.6% is one of the best vaccines against COVID-19 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.”
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. We will also work with RDIF to increase the availability of the vaccine beyond our initial commitments.”
