Italy becomes first European country to produce Russian vaccine

Russia has reached an agreement with Italy to produce its vaccine, Sputnik V, making it the first European country to manufacture the Russian vaccine. Russia's sovereign wealth fund RDIF has signed a contract with Swiss pharmaceutical company Adienne Pharma & Biotech based in the Lombardy region of northern Italy.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has not yet given its approval for the production of Sputnik V, and this announcement is further evidence that some pharmaceutical companies are not willing to wait any longer to start production of this immunogen. According to RDIF's own CEO Kirill Dmitriev, Russia has also reached agreements to produce its vaccine in Spain, France and Germany.

However, the Lombardy regional authorities claim to be unaware of this information and added that there is no agreement between public institutions, so it is a private agreement between the contracting parties. Confirmation of the contract with Moscow came from Vincenzo Trani, president of the Italian-Russian Chamber of Commerce, a private body based in Milan.

The Italian-Russian chamber of commerce said on Monday that the Italian move paved the way for the creation of the first Sputnik V production facility in Europe outside Russia. It said there were plans for Italian production to begin in June and that it hoped that 10 million doses of Sputnik V could be produced there by the end of the year. They also stress that “the innovative production process will help create new jobs and allow Italy to control the entire production of the compound.”

The European Union has been heavily criticised for its slowness in approving the use of certain vaccines, and some EU member states have decided not to wait for approval. Hungary became the first EU country to authorize Sputnik V for use last month while Slovakia announced a deal last week to acquire 2 million Sputnik V doses and received the first shipment of 200,000 doses.

The EU is advocating that vaccines distributed in Europe should be produced, in whole or in part, within the EU. This is a mechanism to control distribution, but also quality and safety. In this way, the Russian sovereign wealth fund enters EU territory with its solution to inoculate against SARS-CoV-2. 

Similarly, Christa Wirthumer-Hoche, EMA board chairwoman and head of the Austrian Medicines and Medical Devices Agency, said on Austrian television that EU members approving Russian and Chinese vaccines through national emergency procedures is "partly comparable with Russian roulette", citing the need to first examine data on the quality, safety and efficacy of the doses. 

Similarly, Christa Wirthumer-Hoche, EMA board chairwoman and head of the Austrian Medicines and Medical Devices Agency, said on Austrian television that EU members approving Russian and Chinese vaccines through national emergency procedures is "partly comparable with Russian roulette", citing the need to first examine data on the quality, safety and efficacy of the doses.