Russian Vaccine Sputnik V to Start Phase 3 Trials in Mexico Once Registered, Ambassador Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik), Andrei Savenkov - Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine is expected to undergo phase 3 trials in Mexico involving about 500 people once the Russian developers get approval from the Mexican regulatory authorities, Mexican Ambassador in Moscow Norma Pensado said.

"There are regular talks between the Fund and the Mexican authorities. Where we are now is that we are waiting for the Fund to finish the documentation so they can provide it to the regulatory authorities. If everything is okay, they can get approval and part of phase 3 can be done in Mexico with about 500 people," Pensado said.

At the same time, Mexico is working hard to diversify its COVID-19 vaccine portfolio by cooperating with the other vaccine producers, such as the United Kingdom's AstraZeneca, the Unites States' Pfizer and China's CanSino Biologics, among others, while also supporting its own national development of the vaccine, the ambassador noted.

In September, the Russian Direct Investment Fund said that it had reached an agreement with the Mexican Landsteiner Scientific pharmaceutical company on delivering 32 million doses of the vaccine to the Latin American country.

The Mexican Embassy later clarified that the agreement was of a business-to-business nature and that the Mexican government was not involved in the deal.

In August, Russia became the first country to register a COVID-19 vaccine, which was named Sputnik V. The vaccine is currently going through phase 3 trials in Russia, as well as in Belarus, the United Arab Emirates, India and Brazil.

Sputnik V is 92 percent effective, based on data from the first 16,000 volunteers who have received both shots of the two-dose vaccine.