BUENOS AIRES, April 21. /TASS/. Argentina’s Richmond lab hopes to start large-scale production of Russia’s Sputnik V to meet the domestic demand and supply the anti-coronavirus vaccine to other countries in the region, the company said in a statement obtained by TASS.

"The Richmond lab will pay back for confidence with hard work, commitment and professionalism, to ensure that the country and the region have the vaccine in the shortest time possible," the statement says.

Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said in a press release on Tuesday that Argentina had become the first country in Latin America to start the production of Russia’s Sputnik V anti-coronavirus vaccine. The first batch will be shipped to the Gamaleya Center for the quality control.

"In case of a positive result, large-scale production is expected to begin in June 2021," the Argentinean lab said.

Argentina was the first country in Latin America to officially register Sputnik V. The vaccine was registered in the country under the emergency use authorization procedure and vaccination against coronavirus with the Russian vaccine started on December, 29 2020, RDIF said. Sputnik V produced in Argentina could be exported to countries of Central and Latin America at a later stage, according to the Russian fund.