New Delhi, December 6: The Russian Direct Investment Fund (Russia's sovereign wealth fund) has said that it strives to expand the partnership between Russia and India in the fight against COVID by providing the one-shot Sputnik Light vaccine and Sputnik M vaccine (for adolescents).

"Russia and India have joined forces since the beginning of the pandemic, with this strategic partnership including production of Sputnik V and Sputnik Light vaccines. A number of agreements with partners in India have helped RDIF to significantly increase our production capabilities. We are ready to offer the Sputnik Light vaccine and the Sputnik M vaccine for adolescents to support strong herd immunity in India and continue saving millions of lives," said Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF). Also Read | US Vows To Strengthen Ties With Countries in Pacific Region Amid Threats From China.

The Russian Sputnik V vaccine, which is one of the safest and most effective vaccines in the world (as demonstrated by the real-world data from Hungary, San Marino, Argentina, Serbia, Bahrain, Mexico, UAE and others) is already used in India following an emergency use authorization in April 2021, RDIF said in a statement on Monday. Sputnik V became the first foreign-made vaccine used in India, it added. Also Read | Nepal Detects First Two Cases of COVID-19 Variant Omicron.

Sputnik V has been authorized in 71 countries with a total population of over 4 billion people. To facilitate the necessary production capacities, RDIF has reached agreements with the leading Indian pharmaceutical companies, including Serum Institute of India (SII)- the world's largest vaccine producer, as well as Gland Pharma, Hetero Biopharma, Panacea Biotec, Stelis Biopharma, Virchow Biotech and Morepen. TodayIndia is the leading production hub for Sputnik V and Sputnik Light vaccines, according to RDIF.

Currently, RDIF is actively cooperating with India's regulatory authorities on the registration of Sputnik Light (the one-shot vaccine based on human adenovirus serotype 26, the first component of the Sputnik V) as a standalone vaccine and a universal booster and expects it to be authorized in the country soon. A major partner of RDIF, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, has conducted additional clinical trials of Sputnik Light in India. Positive data from these trials has also been presented to India's regulator, the statement added.

Sputnik Light is a highly effective vaccine: the latest findings by the Gamaleya Center based on data from 28,000 subjects in Moscow have demonstrated that Sputnik Light administered standalone has 70 per cent efficacy against infection from the Delta variant of coronavirus during the first three months after vaccination.

The vaccine is 75 per cent effective among subjects under the age of 60. Efficacy of Sputnik Light as a booster against Delta variant for other vaccines will be close to the efficacy against the Delta variant of the Sputnik V vaccine: over 83 per cent against infection and over 94 per cent against hospitalization, the statement read.

Sputnik Light has proven to be safe and highly effective by real-world vaccination data. In particular, the vaccine has demonstrated the efficacy of between 78.6-83.7 per cent among the elderly as confirmed by the Ministry of Health of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Paraguay's Ministry of Health also found Sputnik Light to be 93.5 per cent effective during the country's ongoing vaccination campaign, said RDIF.

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