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Over 100 million doses of Sputnik V vaccine to be produced in India

Over 100 million doses of Sputnik V vaccine to be produced in India
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New Delhi: Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and pharma firm Hetero have agreed to produce over 100 million doses per year in India of the Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19, Russia's sovereign wealth fund said in a statement.

The parties intend to start the production of Sputnik V in the beginning of 2021, it added.

Currently, Phase III clinical trials are approved and are ongoing in Belarus, the UAE, Venezuela and other countries, as well as Phase II-III in India, RDIF said.

In October, domestic pharma major Dr Reddy's Laboratories and RDIF had received approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to conduct an adaptive phase II/III human clinical trial for Sputnik V vaccine in India.

Requests for more than 1.2 billion doses of Sputnik V vaccine came from over 50 countries. The vaccine supplies for the global market will be produced by RDIF's international partners in India, Brazil, China, South Korea and other countries, RDIF said.

"We are delighted to announce the agreement between RDIF and Hetero that will pave the way to production of the safe and highly effective Sputnik V vaccine on Indian soil," Russian Direct Investment Fund CEO Kirill Dmitriev said.

The vaccine's interim clinical trial results show 95 per cent efficacy on the 42nd day after the first dose, he added.

"Thanks to our cooperation with Hetero, we will be able to significantly increase production capacity and provide people of India with an efficient solution in this challenging period of the pandemic," Dmitriev said.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Pune, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad on Saturday to review Coronavirus vaccine development work at facilities there.

"Tomorrow, PM @narendramodi will embark on a 3 city visit to personally review the vaccine development & manufacturing process. He will visit the Zydus Biotech Park in Ahmedabad, Bharat Biotech in Hyderabad & Serum Institute of India in Pune," the PMO tweeted.

"As India enters a decisive phase of the fight against COVID-19, PM @narendramodis visit to these facilities & discussions with the scientists will help him get a first hand perspective of the preparations, challenges & roadmap in Indias endeavour to vaccinate its citizens," the PMO added.

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