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Russian developers of Sputnik V plan to produce 850 mn doses a year in India
Dr Reddy’s has the rights for distribution of the first 100 million doses in India, which will be a combination of Indian and Russian made vaccines
The Russian developers of the Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine, which has been granted approval by India’s drug controller for emergency use, have tied up with several Indian pharmaceutical firms to manufacture more than 850 million doses a year.
The developers – Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology named and Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) – initially tied up with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories for trials, regulatory approvals and distribution of the vaccine.
Watch| ‘Sputnik V’ approved: Doctors explain significance in India’s Covid battle
Dr Reddy’s has the rights for distribution of the first 100 million doses in India, which will be a combination of Indian and Russian made vaccines. Since March, the developers have stitched up more agreements to ramp up the production of the vaccine in India.
This includes agreements with Gland Pharma, Hetero Biopharma, Panacea Biotec, Stelis Biopharma and Virchow Biotech aimed at the production of more than 850 million doses a year.
Also Watch | ‘Sputnik V’ approved: Doctors explain significance in India’s Covid battle
The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) on Tuesday approved the emergency use of Sputnik V against Coronavirus in the country after a subject expert committee recommended there is enough data to support that the vaccine is fit to be used.
India became the 60th country to approve Sputnik V, which is one of three Coronavirus vaccines registered by Indian regulatory authorities. India is also the most populous country to register the Russian vaccine.
Other countries that have approved the Russian vaccine include Venezuela, Paraguay, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Mexico, Pakistan, Bahrain, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Iraq, the Philippines, Cameroon and Mauritius.
RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev said: “We appreciate the decision of India’s regulatory bodies to grant authorisation for Sputnik V. Approval of the vaccine is a major milestone as Russia and India have been developing an extensive cooperation on clinical trials of Sputnik V in India and its local production.”
He added, “India is a vaccine-manufacturing hub and our strategic partner for production of Sputnik V. RDIF has created partnerships with a number of India’s leading pharmaceutical companies for production of Sputnik V which will provide for both vaccination of the population in India and global distribution of the Russian vaccine.”
Collaboration on Covid-19 vaccines had also figured in a recent meeting between external affairs minister S Jaishankar and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, who noted RDIF had signed contracts with Indian firms to manufacture the Sputnik V vaccine. He didn’t rule out further cooperation to cover manufacturing of Indian vaccines in Russia.
