A Swiss biotechnology company will manufacture the Russian “Sputnik V” COVID-19 vaccine in facilities in Italy, the firm announced Monday.
Bloomberg News reported that Adienne Pharma & Biotech had announced an agreement with the Russian sovereign wealth fund, the RDIF, to start production near Milan. The company aims to have several million doses manufactured by the end of 2021, pending the approval of the Italian regulator.
“Adienne will be our first production in Europe,” said RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev, according to Bloomberg. “The start of production in Italy will help meet the growing 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 efficiency rate of 92 percent to prevent COVID-19 infections, is a two-dose vaccine with lower cooling requirements than those manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna. It is approved for emergency use in at least 20 countries, although it is not authorized in the US
Nations, including China and Russia, have been accused by the West of so-called “vaccination diplomacy”: they offer developing countries vaccinations in an attempt to forge closer ties between their respective governments.
The issue has plagued the US, which does not want to supply vaccines to other countries but prefers to work with allies, including Australia and Japan, to counter the growing reach of those countries.
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 on problems getting a large enough stock to distribute to their residents at a reasonable rate.
President Biden
Joe Biden Lawyers, activists remember civil rights icons to indicate ‘Bloody Sunday’. Fauci predicts that high school students will receive coronavirus vaccinations in the fall. Biden nominates female generals whose promotion has apparently been delayed under Trump. promised last week that the US would have enough vaccine doses for all American adults who want one by the end of May.