Russia's sovereign wealth fund, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), and Indian pharmaceutical company Hetero have agreed to produce over 100 million doses per year in India of the Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19, according to a statement on the Sputnik V Twitter account on 27 November 2020, Reuters news agency reported in Friday.

According to the statement, Hetero and the RDIF, which has been backing the vaccine and marketing it globally, plan to start production of Sputnik V in India at the beginning of 2021.

Phase II-III trials are ongoing in India, the statement added.

Indian pharmaceutical company Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd has said it expects late-stage trials to be completed by as early as March 2021.