HYDERABAD: Russian sovereign wealth fund Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and pharma player Morepen Laboratories on Tuesday announced the production of the first test batch of Russian Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V at Morepen’s exclusive facility in Himachal Pradesh. The first batch produced in the facility will be shipped to the Gamaleya Center in Russia for quality control purposes, they said in a joint statement. RDIF and Morepen Labs had inked the agreement in June 2021 and are actively implementing the technology transfer, they said.
RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev said with new and more dangerous variants of coronavirus being detected in various parts of the world, it is increasing capacities for Sputnik V in India, which will be one of the key production hubs. “The agreement with Morepen Laboratories provides for a larger amount of Sputnik V to be available both, for India and our partners globally, to speed up vaccination,” Dmitriev said.
Morepen Laboratories CMD Sushil Suri said the partnership would not only expand Sputnik’s production base in India but would also mark a step forward in Morepen’s entry into biosimilars and other biologicals.
