OREANDA-NEWS. On August 11, at a conference on the registration of the first Russian vaccine against coronavirus, Sputnik V, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, Kirill Dmitriyev, said that the organization had already received requests for 1 billion doses of the drug. According to him, they came from 20 countries, in particular, negotiations are underway in Latin America and Asia, including the Middle Eastern states.

Dmitriyev explained that all volume of the vaccine produced in Russia will be used for the domestic market, and for others it will be manufactured with foreign partners. “Together with foreign partners, we are ready to ensure the production of over 500 million doses of vaccine per year in five countries, and we plan to increase production capacity even more,” the official said.

Clinical trials of Sputnik V began in June 2020. According to the Russian Ministry of Health, 2 thousand people will take part in the final third phase of the study. The chief of the Direct Investment Fund added that the third stage will be also conducted abroad. The Fund has reached agreements on this with representatives of the UAE, Saudi Arabia and several other countries.