Panacea Biotec begins production of Sputnik V Covid vaccine in India

Russia’s sovereign wealth fund – Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and Indian vaccine and pharma manufacturer Panacea Biotec have launched production of the Sputnik V Covid vaccine in India.

According to RDIF, the first batch of the Sputnik V vaccine produced at Panacea Biotec’s facilities at Baddi in Himachal Pradesh will be shipped to the Gamaleya Center for quality control purposes.

Dr. Rajesh Jain – Managing Director of 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.”

Russian Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V. Photo courtesy of The Russian Direct Investment Fund.

RDIF said that full-scale production of the Russian Covid vaccine is slated to begin this summer.

Kirill Dmitriev – CEO of RDIF said: “Launch of production in India in partnership with Panacea Biotec marks an important step in 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.”

The Sputnik V vaccine was registered under the emergency use authorization procedure in India last month. Vaccination against Covid-19 with the Russian vaccine began this month.

As per an announcement made in April, RDIF and Panacea Biotec will produce 100 million doses per year of the Sputnik V Covid vaccine.

So far, the Sputnik V vaccine has been registered in 66 countries. Its efficacy is 97.6% based on the analysis of data on coronavirus infection rate among those in Russia vaccinated with its two components.