KATHMANDU: Russia’s sovereign wealth fund said on Tuesday it had agreed to supply 25 million doses of its potential COVID-19 vaccine to Nepal.

The vaccines will be supplied via Trinity Pharmaceuticals, Reuters reported.

The agreement will enable 90% of the population of Nepal to get access to Sputnik V vaccine and provide the country’s clinics with an anti-COVID vaccine with proven safety and efficacy.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund has struck multiple Sputnik V vaccine supply deals abroad, including to supply 100 million doses to India, where it also expects to hold clinical trials.

On August 11, the Sputnik V vaccine developed by the Gamaleya National Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology was registered by the Ministry of Health of Russia and became the world’s first registered vaccine against COVID-19 based on the human adenoviral vectors platform

On September 4, a research paper on the results of Phase I and Phase II clinical trials of the Sputnik V vaccine was published in The Lancet, one of the leading international medical journals, demonstrating no serious adverse effects and a stable immune response in 100 percent of participants. Post-registration clinical trials of the Sputnik V vaccine involving 40,000 volunteers are currently ongoing.

More than 60,000 volunteers have applied to take part in post-registration trials. The first results of these trials are expected to be published in October-November 2020.

More than 50 countries in Asia, Middle East, Latin America, Europe and CIS have applied for Sputnik V. RDIF has announced earlier supply agreements with Mexico for 32 million doses, with Brazil for up to 50 million doses, India – 100 million doses and Uzbekistan – for up to 35 million doses.