Leading Egyptian pharmaceutical company Minapharm has said it will produce more than 40 million doses of Russian-made Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine a year under an agreement with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).
The agreement to produce the world’s first registered vaccine against the new virus also includes a subsidiary of Minapharm in Berlin, ProBioGen AG.
In a press release, Minapharm said that the parties to the agreement plan to immediately begin the transfer of necessary technologies, pending the spread of the vaccine in the third quarter of 2021.
Minapharm says it will produce 40 million doses a year at its Cairo biotechnology complex for global distribution.
“German subsidiary Minapharm, ProBioGen AG, intends to make efforts to optimize processes to further increase production, using its knowledge of viral vectors and the development of production processes for vaccines and gene therapy,” the press release said.
According to Minapharm, Sputnik V was registered in 61 countries and proved to be 97.6% effective based on an analysis of data on the level of coronavirus infection among those vaccinated in Russia with both components of the vaccine.
Egyptian Health Minister Hala Zayed met with Russian Ambassador to Egypt Georgy Borisenko on Monday to discuss the possibility of making a Sputnik V vaccine for Egypt.
Egypt also plans to produce Chinese Sinopharm at the plants of the Egyptian Holding Company for Biological Products and Vaccines (VACSERA).