MOSCOW, November 11. /TASS/. Turkey voiced interest in launching production of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine at the facilities of its own pharmaceutical manufacturers, the Russian Health Ministry told reporters on Wednesday after talks between Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko and his Turkish counterpart Fahrettin Koca.

"The sides discussed the situation with the novel coronavirus infection’s spread and especially focused on the issues of developing vaccines for preventing COVID-19. The Turkish health minister expressed interest in launching Sputnik V vaccine’s production at the facilities of Turkish pharmaceutical manufacturers after carrying out toxicological studies envisaged by local legislation," the ministry said.

At the meeting, Murashko also assured Koca that Russia was ready to launch toxicological studies at a certified laboratory. "The sides agreed to start implementing the agreements in the coming days," the ministry noted.

On August 11, Russia registered the world’s first vaccine against the novel coronavirus. The vaccine, dubbed Sputnik V, was developed by the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Russian Health Ministry, and its clinical trials were successfully completed in June-July. The vaccine was developed on a platform that had been used for a number of other vaccines. Head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev stated earlier that Russia had already received requests from 20 countries to supply 1 bln doses of the vaccine.