Virchow Biotech, an India-based pharmaceutical company has signed an agreement with the Russian COVID-19 vaccine ‘Sputnik V’ for the production of 200 million vaccine doses. The development of the Russian vaccine is funded by the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and it has also confirmed the partnership with an Indian manufacturer.
RDIF has planned the transfer of technology by the end of the second quarter of the year, and then full-scale production of Sputnik V will start on the commercial level. The announcement by RDIF follows similar tie-ups with other Indian pharmaceutical manufacturers such as Gland Pharma, Stelis Biopharma, and Hetero. “Virchow’s proven capabilities in the large-scale drug substance manufacturing should help meet the global demand for this vaccine”, Dr. Tummuru Murali, Managing Director of Virchow Biotech, a subsidiary of the Virchow Group said in the statement.
Mr. Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of RDIF said the agreement was an important step to facilitate full-scale production of Sputnik V in India, and to supply it to other partners around the world. According to RDIF, the Russian vaccine is registered in more than 50 countries so far. Moscow has registered Sputnik V in August 2020 before the large-scale clinical trials. The leading medical journal ‘The Lancet’ has said vaccines to be safe and effective over 90 percent. But some countries in the west have been wary of the Russian vaccine over concerns that the Kremlin is using it as a soft power tool to push its interests.
Russia is making its vaccine in other countries such as Brazil and South Korea. Also, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. has conducted a small clinical study of the Russian vaccine in India and asked for emergency approval in the last month for the use of the vaccine, but the regulatory body of the country has demanded more information from the Sputnik V developers. After multiple deals with Indian pharmaceutical manufacturers, India is now one of the biggest producers of Sputnik V shots outside Russia.
In another statement, RDIF said that over a few weeks it had already made production agreements with other Indian manufacturers to achieve enough doses for 300 million people a year. RDIF had also added that the total production capacity for more than 700 million people is secured in multiple countries. Russia has promoted Sputnik V as a cheaper and easy-to-transport alternative to the jabs developed by the western countries. However, the Russian vaccine costs $9.75 per dose meaning the two-dose jab will cost $19.50 per person in total. On the other hand, India-made Novavax and western vaccine AstraZeneca costs just $3 per dose. African Union has already secured 300 million of Sputnik V while American vaccine maker has also set a price tag of $10 for African Union. Following other countries, African Union continues to secure vaccines from multiple providers to ramp up its vaccines drive across the continent.
