The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has announced the production of a test batch of the Russian Covid-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, in Mexico.
With this production, Mexico has become the first North American country to register and launch local production of the vaccine, which will be used in the country’s national vaccination programme.
The production of Sputnik V, which can be stored in a conventional refrigerator, in the country was organised by RDIF and Mexican pharmaceutical firm Laboratorios de Biológicos y Reactivos de México (BIRMEX).
So far, the Russian vaccine has been registered in around 67 countries across the world.
It is also claimed to be one of the safest and effective coronavirus vaccines according to the data obtained from countries, including Argentina, Bahrain, Mexico, Serbia, Hungary, UAE and other places where it has been distributed.
RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev said: “Production of the test batch is an important step in technology transfer process and we expect the batch to comply with strictest requirements.
“Sputnik V has been successfully used in Mexico for months demonstrating excellent safety and efficacy profile.
“As RDIF and partners launch the local production of the vaccine we strive to provide easier access to Sputnik V for population of Mexico and help speed up the vaccination programme.”
Sputnik V vaccine is based on a well-studied platform of human adenoviral vectors and uses two different vectors for the two shots for vaccination.
It provides immunity longer than the vaccines using the same delivery mechanism for both the shots.
Recently, RDIF announced the production of a test batch of the vaccine in Iran.