Panacea Biotec, RDIF launch Sputnik V production in India

New Delhi: The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF, Russia's sovereign wealth fund) and Panacea Biotec have recently announced the launch of production of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against coronavirus.

The first batch produced at Panacea Biotec's facilities at Baddi will be shipped to the Gamaleya Center for quality control. Full-scale production of the vaccine is due to start this summer, Company's facilities comply with GMP standards and are prequalified by WHO.

Sputnik V was registered in India under the emergency use authorization procedure on April 12, 2021 and vaccination against coronavirus with the Russian vaccine started on May 14. As announced in April, RDIF and Panacea have agreed to produce 100 million doses per year of Sputnik V.

To date Sputnik V has been registered in 66 countries globally with total population of over 3.2 billion people. Efficacy of Sputnik V is 97.6% based on the analysis of data on coronavirus infection rate among those in Russia vaccinated with both components of Sputnik V from December 5, 2020 to March 31, 2021.

The vaccine is based on a proven and well-studied platform of human adenoviral vectors and uses two different vectors for the two shots in a course of vaccination, providing immunity with a longer duration than vaccines using the same delivery mechanism for both shots.

Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, said:

"Launch of production in India in partnership with Panacea Biotec marks an important step for helping the country fight the pandemic. Production of Sputnik V supports efforts of India's authorities to leave behind the acute phase of coronavirus as soon as possible while the vaccine will also be exported at a later stage to help prevent the spread of the virus in other countries around the world."

Dr. Rajesh Jain, Managing Director, for Panacea Biotec, said:

"This marks a significant step as we initiate production of Sputnik V. Together with RDIF, we hope to help bring a sense of normalcy back to people across the country and around the world."

Read also: Panacea Biotec, RDIF to produce 100 million doses of Sputnik V per year in India