Italy Is the First EU Country Planning to Produce the Russian "Sputnik V" Vaccine

Italy may become the first EU country to produce the Russian Sputnik V vaccine on its territory. This reported "Evropeyskaya Pravda" with reference to the Italian agency AGI. An agreement on the production of a vaccine in Italy was signed by the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which holds a patent for Sputnik V and Adienne Pharma & Biotech. The latter intends to produce the vaccine at two plants - in Lombardy and central Italy and is ready to supply 10 million doses from July 2021 to January 2022. The Italian-Russian Chamber of Commerce said that as soon as the Russian vaccine is approved by the European Medicines Agency, it will begin to be distributed throughout Italy. "The partnership will allow production to begin as early as July 2021," the Chamber of Commerce said in a press release. "The innovative manufacturing process will help create new jobs and allow Italy to control the entire production process. This will allow production of up to 10 million doses by the end of the year." "The Russian government is working on 20 joint projects in Europe, and the Sputnik V vaccine has already been registered in more than 45 countries around the world," explains the Italian-Russian Chamber of Commerce. It should be noted that so far only Hungary and Slovakia have allowed using the Sputnik V vaccine in the EU.