Pharma firm in India to make Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine

FILE PHOTO: Bottles with Russia's "Sputnik-V" vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are seen before inoculation at a clinic in Tver, Russia October 12, 2020. REUTERS/Tatyana Makeyeva/File Photo

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Indian pharmaceutical company Hetero will manufacture over 100 million doses of the Russian Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine per year under the terms of a deal unveiled on Friday between it and Russia's RDIF sovereign wealth fund.

The move, which RDIF cast as another step in its efforts to scale up international manufacturing of its flagship vaccine, will see Hetero begin production in India at the start of next year, according to a joint statement on the Sputnik V Twitter account.