Philippines seen as Asia production hub for Sputnik V vaccine

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines may be on its way to being a production hub for COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V in Asia, Russian Direct Investment Fund CEO Kirill Dmitriev said in a televised interview the other night.

Interviewed by “The Chiefs” on Cignal TV’s OneNews and TV5, Dmitriev disclosed they are already in the final stages of negotiations to set up the manufacturing of Sputnik V vaccines in the country.

The vaccine production, he said, may start in three to four months once the deals are finalized.

“With the Philippines, we are in the final stage of negotiation with actually two producers and we hope to conclude them shortly,” Dmitriev said.

“I think the Philippines can actually be one of the hubs of vaccine production for Asia and Russia is really committed to it. We see it from the time we make an agreement the vaccine production can start within the next three or four months,” he said.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) to Sputnik V vaccine manufactured by Russian medical-research institute Gamaleya National Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology.

He said the Philippines is a “great priority” in the delivery of Sputnik V.

“We are very much committed to delivering vaccines in April. The exact schedule we are still finalizing with the government,” Dmitriev said.

He explained that this is a Russian model of giving countries the ability to produce vaccines themselves for vaccine independence.

“That is our model. We exactly enable countries to fully produce the vaccine and have the whole cycle in that country. We have done it already in India, China, and Korea. We want to do it in the Philippines,” Dmitriev said.

“This is a unique approach because other nations try to control all the technology and basically give fill and finish,” he said, adding that there is an ongoing experiment of Sputnik V vaccine in powder form that can be given in one shot similar to Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 vaccine that also shows high efficacy.

He said vaccination of high risk personnel in Russia, including healthcare professionals, has already contributed to a significant decline in COVID-19 cases.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia invited all diplomatic missions, including the Philippines, and representatives of international organizations accredited in the country to get inoculated with Sputnik V.

Sputnik V’s efficacy in fighting COVID-19 was validated by internationally peer reviewed data published in The Lancet.

In an interim analysis of a Phase III clinical trial, Sputnik V showed strong efficacy, immunogenicity and safety results. Efficacy of Sputnik V against COVID-19 was reported at 91.6 percent.