MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia expects a deal with AstraZeneca for it to manufacture a COVID-19 vaccine being developed by the pharmaceuticals giant and Oxford University to go ahead despite allegations it has been trying to steal vaccine data, its wealth fund head said.
Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre said on Thursday that hackers backed by the Russian state were trying to steal COVID-19 vaccine and treatment research from academic and pharmaceutical institutions around the world, allegations the Kremlin denied.
Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, said in an interview on Friday that the allegations were false and that Moscow did not need to steal secrets as it already had a deal with AstraZeneca to manufacture the British vaccine in Russia.
He said the deal could be announced later on Friday.
“There’s nothing that needs to be stolen,” he told Reuters. “It’s all going to be given to Russia.”
(Reporting by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
