A Swiss biotech company will produce Russia’s “Sputnik V” COVID-19 vaccine at facilities across Italy, the company announced Monday.
Bloomberg News reported that Adienne Pharma & Biotech has announced a deal with Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, the RDIF, to start production near Milan. The company aims to have several million doses produced by the end of 2021, pending approval from Italian regulatory authorities.
“Adienne will be our first production in Europe,” said Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of RDIF, according to Bloomberg. “The launch of production in Italy will help meet the rising demand for Sputnik V and protect many people, not only in Europe but also in other parts of the world, as the vaccine can be exported later.”
The Russian Sputnik V, which has a reported 92 percent efficacy rate for preventing COVID-19 infections, is a two-dose vaccine with lower cold storage requirements than those produced by Pfizer and Moderna. It is approved for emergency use in at least 20 countries, although it is not approved in the US.
Nations, including China and Russia, have been accused by the West of so-called “vaccine diplomacy” – the provision of vaccines to developing countries in an attempt to forge closer ties between their respective governments.
The issue has plagued the US, which has not moved to deliver vaccines to other countries, but has instead chosen to partner with allies, including Australia and Japan, to counteract those countries’ growing reach.
Three vaccines for COVID-19 are currently approved for emergency use in the US: Pfizer’s, Johnson & Johnson’s, and Moderna’s. Some states across the country are still reporting problems obtaining a large enough supply to distribute among their residents at a reasonable pace.
President Biden
Joe Biden Lawmakers, activists remind civil rights icons to mark ‘Bloody Sunday’ Fauci predicts high school students will receive coronavirus vaccinations this fall Biden nominates female generals whose promotions were reportedly delayed under Trump MORE last week promised that the US would have enough vaccine doses for all American adults who want one by the end of May.