MOSCOW: The developers of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine said Monday they had reached production agreements in key European countries as the EU’s medical agency deliberates official approval for the jab.

The head of Russia’s Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev said in a statement that his organisation had secured agreements with companies from Italy, Spain, France and Germany.

Dmitriev said the deals would allow for the supply of Sputnik to the European market “once the approval is granted by the European Medicines Agency (EMA)”. If approved Sputnik would become the first non-Western coronavirus jab to be certified for use across the 27-nation bloc.

A spokesman for the Italian-Russian Chamber of Commerce said last week that pharmaceutical company Adienne would produce Sputnik at factories in northern Italy starting in July.

In France, however, the economy ministry told AFP on Monday that it was unaware of any deal between RDIF and French firms.