Iran Produces Test Batch of Russian Sputnik V Vaccine

Iran’s Actoverco pharmaceutical firm has produced a test batch of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19, the Russian Direct Investment Fund said on Saturday. Iran is the first country in the Middle East to produce the vaccine, RDIF said, adding that this would help accelerate vaccinations without boosting logistic costs. Iran approved Sputnik V for domestic use in January and had planned to start domestic production in April.

Iran has now joined more than 60 other countries that produce the Russian vaccine under license, including Germany, Italy, Spain, India, China, South Korea, and Brazil. The Gamaleya Research Institute, part of Russia’s Ministry of Health, has developed Sputnik V vaccine. Gamaleya published a study in February showing that two doses of the vaccine had an efficacy rate of 91.6%. Russia is using it in a mass vaccination campaign, and the vaccine has been approved for emergency use in dozens of other countries. The Gamaleya Scientific Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology has also submitted documents to Russia’s Health Ministry for permission to conduct clinical trials of the Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus among teenagers.

Iran has already granted emergency use authorization to Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine, Covaxin made by India’s Bharat Biotech, Oxford/AstraZeneca developed by Russia’s R-Pharm Group, and the AstraZeneca-SKBio made in South Korea.

Last week, the emergency use of an Iranian coronavirus vaccine financed by the Barakat Foundation was authorized. Officials say the permission for the rollout of another homegrown vaccine developed jointly by Cuba and the Pasteur Institute of Iran will be granted in the near future. -Tasnim, Reuters