Serum Institute of India (SII) and Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) on Tuesday introduced plans to start out manufacturing of Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in India from September.
Russia’s Sovereign Wealth Fund, which is selling the vaccine globally, mentioned the plan was to provide greater than 300 million doses of the vaccine per 12 months in India.
“The strategic partnership between RDIF and Serum Institute of India is a major step forward in enhancing vaccine production capabilities while demonstrating a perfect example of joining forces and expertise to save lives in India and around the world” – Kirill, CEO of RDIF dmitreev pic.twitter.com/ztHgpeaVws
— Sputnik V (@sputnikvaccine) 13 July 2021
“As part of the technology transfer process, SII has already received cell and vector samples from the Gamleya centre. With the approval of their import by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), the process of cultivation has started,” RDIF mentioned in an announcement.
Expressing happiness over the partnership, Adar Poonawalla, CEO, SII, mentioned that full entry to the Sputnik V vaccine is essential. “We expect lakhs of doses to be made in the coming months with the trial batch starting in the month of September. With high efficacy and a good safety profile, it is important that the Sputnik vaccine is fully available to people in India and around the world,” Poonawalla mentioned.
“Given the uncertainty of the virus, it is important for international institutions and governments to cooperate and advance our fight against the pandemic,” he mentioned.
RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev additionally mentioned that this partnership is an enormous step ahead to considerably improve manufacturing capabilities.
“This strategic partnership is a great step forward in enhancing our production capabilities while demonstrating a perfect example of joining forces and expertise to save lives in India and around the world. With the transfer of technology, we expect to jointly produce the first batch of vaccine with SII in the coming months,” mentioned Dmitry in an announcement.
The Russian vaccine, developed by the Gamalya National Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology in Moscow, was granted emergency use authorization in India in May.
Presently, it’s being manufactured in India by Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Limited based mostly in Hyderabad. Recently, Dr Reddy’s obtained round 3 million doses of Sputnik V from RDIF, with whom it has tied as much as promote the dose (250 million vials) to 125 million individuals in India.
The Hyderabad-based drugmaker on Monday mentioned it has expanded the pilot undertaking to 50 different cities and cities within the nation. It added that it could consolidate the business rollout of Sputnik V within the coming weeks.
In June, the Center had mounted the value of the vaccine at Rs 1,145 per dose.
According to the outcomes printed in The Lancet, the efficacy of Sputnik V is 91.6 p.c.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
