'Breaking monopolies': Russian experts boast about technology sharing of Sputnik vaccine

As Russian experts claimed that Sputnik Light is more efficient against the deadly Delta variant of coronavirus, than other western vaccines, they also assured that Russia is happy to share its technology with the world.

Talking about sharing vaccine technology with the world, Kirill Dmitriev, CFO, Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said that the company has offered full transfer of the Sputnik V technology with more than 10 countries.

Also read | 'Universal booster': Sputnik Light's efficacy higher than other vaccines, experts claim

"We are producing it not only in Russia, but we are producing in more than 10 countries. So, 20 producers in more than 10 countries are producing Sputnik Light shot, including Serum Institute which is the largest vaccine producer of the world," Dmitriev said.

He also talked about the importance of finishing the concept of monopoly markets with respect to Covid vaccines. People around the world are suffering and at such a time it is the moral duty of medical experts to supply and help other countries with vaccines rather than profiting out of monopoly markets, the expert said.

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"We believe that monopoly is bad because it increases prices. Monopolies are less efficient and if you have seen the decline in some of the mRNA vaccines in five months, it shows that monopolies need some other players to actually partner with them and help with the efficacy," Dmitriev said. "We cannot live in a world where vaccine efficacy declines dramatically below 50 per cent in five months. We need to have a more pragmatic and efficient solution and Sputnik Light is one such solution that can be a booster to others."

The expert also claimed that Russia has shared that vaccine technology with 10 different countries as it believes that technological transfer is the key to breaking monopolies. He also said that Russia hopes this will set an example for other vaccine manufacturers and countries and encourage them to follow the suit.

During a virtual press conference, the experts also claimed that "Sputnik Light, a one-shot vaccine, is efficient against the Delta with 70 per cent efficacy, and for people with age 60 and below, its efficacy is 75 per cent. So, those are actually very high efficacy numbers," said Kirill Dmitriev.