Russian Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik-V is going to be manufactured in India for global supply. Gland Pharma, Hetero, and Strides Pharma Science are the manufacturers who have partnered with Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) for the contract manufacturing.
Gland Pharma based in Hyderabad said it had inked a pact with RDIF to supply 252 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik-V.
This is part of the Russian sovereign wealth fund’s efforts to increase manufacturing capacities in India to make for the country and to augment global supplies. According to sources, Bengaluru-based Strides Pharma Science, too, is in fray for contract manufacturing the Sputnik-V. Another Hyderabad-based player, Hetero, will supply 100 million doses of the vaccine.
RDIF has lined up 250 million doses for India over the next 12 months, and the rest will be for global supplies. Sputnik-V has shown 91.6 per cent efficacy in trials, much higher than the efficacy of Covishield, the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine made by Serum Institute of India (SII), and Covaxin made by Bharat Biotech, which are currently being administered in India.
Sputnik-V is under review for emergency use authorization in India. It will be marketed in India by DRL, which is also working with RDIF to conduct bridge clinical trials to establish safety and immunogenicity of the Sputnik-V on Indians. The Indian expert panel on vaccines has asked DRL to provide more data on immunogenicity.