RDIF and Virchow Biotech partner for production of Sputnik V vaccine in India

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund), and Virchow Biotech Private Limited (part of the Virchow Group), one of the leading vaccine and pharmaceutical producers in India, announce the agreement to produce in the country up to 200 million doses per year of Sputnik V, the world’s first registered vaccine against coronavirus.

The technology transfer is expected to be completed in the 2Q of 2021 followed by full-scale commercial production of Sputnik V. Virchow Biotech capacities will help facilitate global supply of Sputnik V to international partners of RDIF.

Sputnik V has been registered in 54 countries globally with total population of over 1.4 billion people. Efficacy of Sputnik V is 91.6% as confirmed by the data published in the Lancet, one of the world’s oldest and most respected medical journals. 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.

“Vaccine partnerships are the only way to overcome the pandemic. The world continues its fight against coronavirus and we see a growing interest in Sputnik V vaccine as it is one of the most efficient vaccines available. The agreement with Virchow Biotech is an important step to facilitate the full-scale local production of the vaccine in India and to supply our international partners globally.”

“We are glad to sign a cooperation agreement with RDIF to produce the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine. Virchow’s proven capabilities in large scale drug substance manufacturing should help meet the global demand for this vaccine. We are also happy to learn of the positive feedback that this vaccine has been receiving from all countries.”

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.