Russia hawks Sputnik V vaccine on global market with lower price point

Russia is looking to produce about a billion doses of its Sputnik V vaccine and then sell it around the world. 

According to posts on the Sputnik V’s Twitter account, a two-dose regimen of the vaccine will be less than $20 — a price point that the head of the Russia Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), the financial backer of the vaccine, says is half as much as other options on the global market.  

Russia has been locked in a race with other drug developers as it looks to compete on the global market for COVID-19 vaccines. Its Sputnik V vaccine was approved by the Kremlin in mid-August even though its phase 3 trials are still ongoing. 

And just days after Pfizer released data showing that its mRNA vaccine is about 90 percent effective, Russia jumped into the news to announce that it has the edge because its vaccine is 92 percent effective. 

Russia plans to produce about 2 million doses of its shot this year and has set aside capacity to make 1 billion doses starting in 2021. About 50 countries have already put in requests for more than 1.2 billion doses.

Read the full Reuters report.