According to a statement from Gamaleya Center, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund) and the Brazilian pharmaceutical União Química have reached an agreement for the production of 10 million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine in Brazil in the first quarter of 2021. In a meeting this Wednesday, the parties discussed the key points of cooperation.

RDIF and União Química have also agreed to apply for emergency use authorization of Sputnik V in Brazil this week. Some days ago, União Química requested authorization for the beginning of phase 3 trials of the Russiam immunizer in Brazil. The statement did not mention this step. In Latin America, Argentina and Bolivia have approved the use emergency of Sputnik V. LABS has requested more details about this other process and is waiting for a response.

According to the statement, a delegation of União Química will visit Sputnik V production sites in Russia.

“Our partners from União Química were among the first in the world to show interest in the Russian Sputnik V vaccine. On our end, we are ready for a full-scale cooperation on supplies and production to begin the vaccination of the population in Brazil as soon as possible. Sputnik V is a safe and effective vaccine created on a proven and well-researched platform of human adenoviral vectors. A number of countries in Latin America are already vaccinating people with Sputnik V and we hope that Brazil will join them in coming weeks,” said Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, in the statement.

According to RDIF, over 1.5 million people have already been vaccinated with Sputnik V. The developers of the Russian immunizer are also working collaboratively with AstraZeneca on a joint clinical trial to improve the efficacy of the AstraZeneca vaccine.