MOSCOW, April 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF, Russia's sovereign wealth fund) and Laboratorios Richmond SACIF pharmaceutical company today announced the production of the first batch of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against coronavirus in Argentina.
Argentina has become the first country in Latin America to start the production of Sputnik V. RDIF and partners facilitated the technology transfer to Laboratorios Richmond. The first batch will be shipped to the Gamaleya Center for the quality control. Full-scale production of the vaccine is due to start in June.
Argentina has become the first country in Latin America to officially register Sputnik V. The vaccine was registered in the country under the emergency use authorization procedure and vaccination against coronavirus with the Russian vaccine started on December, 29 2020.
Sputnik V produced in Argentina could be exported to countries of Central and Latin America at a later stage.
To date Sputnik V has been registered in 60 countries globally with total population of 3 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.
Alberto Fernández, President of Argentina, commented:
"We are very excited about the possibility of producing Sputnik V in Argentina, a vaccine with which we are already protecting a large part of our population with excellent results. It will be a great opportunity to advance in the fight against the pandemic not only in Argentina, but also in Latin America."
Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, said:
"Argentina was the first country of Latin America to approve Sputnik V and begin using it to vaccinate the population. Today we are delighted to announce that Argentina has become the first country of the region to launch the production of Sputnik V thanks to parthership between RDIF and Laboratorios Richmond. Sputnik V is approved in more than 10 countries of Latin and Central America and production in Argentina will help facilitate deliveries to other partners in the region."
Marcelo Figueiras, President of Richmond Laboratories, said:
"Laboratories Richmond is proud to have the support of the Russian Direct Investment Fund that relied on our scientific and technical platform to produce the Sputnik V vaccine in Argentina. We celebrate this recognition that we will reward with work, commitment and professionalism, to facilitate availability of the vaccine in the shortest possible time for Argentina and the entire Latin American region."
Sputnik V has a number of key advantages:
- Efficacy of Sputnik V is 97.6% based on the analysis of data on the coronavirus infection rate among those in Russia vaccinated vaccinated with both components of Sputnik V from December 5, 2020 to March 31, 2021;
- The Sputnik V vaccine is based on a proven and well-studied platform of human adenoviral vectors, which cause the common cold and have been around for thousands of years.
- Sputnik V 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.
- The safety, efficacy and lack of negative long-term effects of adenoviral vaccines have been proven by more than 250 clinical studies over two decades.
- There are no strong allergies caused by Sputnik V.
- The storage temperature of Sputnik V at +2+8 C means it can be stored in a conventional refrigerator without any need to invest in additional cold-chain infrastructure.
- The price of Sputnik V is less than $10 per shot, making it affordable around the world.
Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) is Russia's sovereign wealth fund established in 2011 to make equity co-investments, primarily in Russia, alongside reputable international financial and strategic investors. RDIF acts as a catalyst for direct investment in the Russian economy. RDIF's management company is based in Moscow. Currently, RDIF has experience of the successful joint implementation of more than 80 projects with foreign partners totaling more than RUB2 tn and covering 95% of the regions of the Russian Federation. RDIF portfolio companies employ more than 800,000 people and generate revenues which equate to more than 6% of Russia's GDP. RDIF has established joint strategic partnerships with leading international co-investors from more than 18 countries that total more than $40 bn. Further information can be found at www.rdif.ru
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