The government on Monday approved Sputnik V, the vaccine against Covid-19 developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology in Russia.
This is the third vaccine to be approved by India after Serum Institute’s Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin. This will boost India’s vaccination drive as more and more cases are being reported every day.
Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, the Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company, last week sought the government’s approval for the vaccine to be used in India. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) partnered with Dr Reddy’s in September 2020 to conduct clinical trials of Sputnik V in India. The Russian vaccine has an efficacy of 91.6% and is conducting its Phase III clinical trials in the UAE, India, Venezuela and Belarus, according to the Sputnik-V’s website.
RDIF tied up with a number of Indian manufacturers to produce up to 200 million doses per year of Sputnik V in India. These include Hyderabad based Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Hetero Biopharma, Gland Pharma, Stelis Biopharma and Vichrow Biotech for the production of vaccine doses.
