Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine will soon be produced in Italy. It was announced that the sovereign wealth fund Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) is going to cooperate with Swiss-based Adienne Pharma & Biotech for producing the vaccine in Italy, according to a statement by RDIF’s Chief Executive Kirill Dmitriev given to Italian TV Channel Rai 3.
“We are holding talks with the government of Italy. There are many regions enthusiastic in respect of the Sputnik V, which want to produce it domestically. We for the first time cooperate now with the Swiss company Adienne Pharma & Biotech in Sputnik V production in Italy,” Dmitriev said. That production may start as early as in June. Huffington Post Italy reports an agreement has been signed between Adienne and RDIF to produce Sputnik V in two Adienne plants, one in Lombardy and the other one in central Italy, according to the Italy-Russia Chamber of Commerce. They plan to produce 10 million doses by the end of the year. RDIF is also discussing cooperation with Germany and France.
Meanwhile the European Union’s failed vaccine program has once again come under attack. Finnish President Sauli Niinistö criticized the EU’s joint procurement program for coronavirus vaccines, particularly taking on the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the body that approves vaccines in the EU, saying it was “far behind” on the AstraZeneca vaccine and that “now Johnson & Johnson is lagging behind, too.”
