The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and the pharmaceutical company Laboratorios Richmond SACIF announced the production of the first batch of the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in Argentina.
This is the first country in Latin America where the production of the Russian drug has been launched. RDIF and partners have transferred technology for Laboratorios Richmond, the first batch will be delivered to the Gamalei Research and Development Center for quality control.
Full-scale production of Sputnik V in Argentina is expected to start in June.
Argentina was also the first Latin American country to officially register a Russian vaccine on its territory. Vaccination with a drug from the Russian Federation in Argentina started on December 29, 2020. Sputnik V shipments produced in Argentina can be exported to other Central and Latin American countries in the future.
“We are very pleased to be able to produce the Sputnik V vaccine in Argentina, due to it we are already protecting our population with excellent results. This will be a great opportunity to advance in the fight against the pandemic not only in Argentina, but also in Latin America, “said Argentine President Alberto Fernandez.
“Laboratories Richmond is proud of the support of the RDIF and the fact that the fund relies on our scientific and technological base for the production of the Sputnik V vaccine in Argentina. Our company will do everything possible to ensure the availability of the vaccine as soon as possible for Argentina and the entire Latin American region, “said Richmond Laboratories President Marcelo Figueiras.
To date, Sputnik V has been registered in 60 countries with a total population of 3 billion people. The effectiveness of the vaccine was 97.6% according to the analysis of data on the incidence of coronavirus among Russians vaccinated with both components of the drug from December 5, 2020 to March 31, 2021.
The vaccine is built on a well-studied platform of human adenoviral vectors and uses two different vectors for two vaccinations during vaccination, providing longer immunity than vaccines using the same delivery mechanism for both vaccinations.
