The Pune-based Serum Institute of India is soon going to start the production of Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine, Sputnik V. The announcement was made on Tuesday by Kirill Dmitriev, CEO, Russian Direct Investment Fund, who said Sputnik V will be manufactured by SII starting September this year.
https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1414857725230551051?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwRussian Direct Investment Fund, which is promoting the vaccine globally, said the plan was to manufacture over 300 million doses of the vaccine per year in India, making it one of the leading production hubs for Sputnik V.
“The parties intend to produce over 300 million doses of the vaccine in India per year with the first batch expected in September 2021,” the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said in a statement.
The RDIF further added that SII, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by volume, has already received cell and vector samples from Russia’s Gamaleya Centre. It also said that with the import approved by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), the cultivation process has begun.
Sputnik V has so far been registered in 67 countries across the world, covering about 3.5 billion people, the RDIF said.
As of now, Sputnik V is marketed by Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd in India. Earlier yesterday, the Gamaleya institute said that during a study conducted by it, vaccination with Sputnik V has produced protective neutralising titers against new variants, including Alpha (B.1.1.7) – first identified in the UK – Beta (B.1.351) – first identified in South Africa – Gamma (P.1) – first identified in Brazil – and Delta (B.1.617.2 and B.1.617.3), first identified in India.
The Indian drug regulator has granted permission for restricted emergency use of Sputnik V.
Earlier, Serum Institute of India, world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, had partnered with AstraZeneca for supply of vaccine doses. In India, the vaccine is being administered under the name ‘COVISHIELD’.