The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and the Egyptian pharmaceutical company Minapharm announced that over 40 million doses of the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine will be produced in Egypt annually.
In the near future, the parties will begin technological transfer and launch production of Sputnik V in the third quarter of this year. Production will start at the Minapharm biotechnology facility in Cairo. ProBioGen, a German company with expertise in vector technology, will be involved in process optimization.
“This agreement will strengthen Minapharm’s regional leadership in biotechnology, which has been achieved through extensive international expertise in cell engineering and adenovirus vector technology at its German subsidiary ProBioGen. We are pleased to join RDIF in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic”, – said Vafik Bardissi, head of Minapharm.
The Sputnik V vaccine was developed by Russian scientists and became the world’s first registered drug against coronavirus. Sputnik V is approved for use in 61 countries with a total population of over 3 billion people. The vaccine is based on the adenoviral platform, which ensures high efficacy and safety.