The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), and Stelis Biopharma, the biopharma division of Strides, have partnered to produce, and supply a minimum of 200 million doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against coronavirus sufficient to vaccinate 100 million people. The agreement between RDIF and Stelis Biopharma was reached under the aegis of Enso Healthcare (part of Enso Group), RDIF’s coordination partner for sourcing Sputnik V vaccines in India.

Sputnik V is a two-dose vaccine which uses two different human adenoviral vectors in the course of vaccination.

The parties intend to commence supplies from the Q3 of 2021. Stelis will also continue to work with the RDIF to provide additional supply volumes beyond the initial agreement.

Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, said, “We are delighted to announce our agreement with Stelis Biopharma for a significant capacity of Sputnik V. The Russian vaccine with an efficacy of 91.6 per cent is one of the best vaccines against coronavirus in the world. The significant vaccine volumes which will be produced jointly with Stelis will help to widen access to the vaccine on a global scale.”

Arun Kumar, Founder of Strides Group, said, “We are delighted to partner with RDIF to make a substantial contribution towards providing global supply of the Sputnik V vaccine which is one of the most efficacious approved vaccines commercially available. We will also work with RDIF to increase the availability of the vaccine beyond our initial commitments.”