Highlights:
- On Monday, the DCGI approved the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use.
- After the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, Sputnik V has the highest efficacy (91.6%).
- Covaxin, Covishield, and Sputnik-V are the three Covid-19 vaccines that have been approved in India so far.
India’s drug regulator, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), has approved the Covid vaccine Sputnik V for emergency use.
Sputnik V is the third coronavirus vaccine to be approved by India’s drug regulator, as the country experiences an ongoing increase in cases. In January, the FDA approved two vaccines: Covishield from the Serum Institute of India and Covaxin from Bharat Biotech.
India has been the 60th country to approve the two-dose vaccine, according to the Russian Direct Investment Fund or RDIF (Russia’s sovereign wealth fund). The RDIF has signed agreements with five pharmaceutical companies in the country, including Gland Pharma, Hetero Biopharma, Panacea Biotec, Stelis Biopharma, and Virchow Biotech, to produce over 850 million doses per year. However, only a few doses are expected to be produced by the end of April, with production ramping up steadily after that.
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“In terms of the number of approvals granted by government regulators, Sputnik V ranks second among coronavirus vaccines globally,” according to the statement.
Manufactured in India by Dr Reddy’s, Sputnik V has the highest effectiveness – 91.6 per cent — after the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines. On February 19, Dr. Reddy’s filed an emergency use application for the vaccine, which is currently in Phase 3 clinical trials in India. On Monday, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization’s Subject Expert Committee (SEC) approved its use.
On January 16, India began the world’s largest immunisation campaign, which has so far resulted in the administration of over 10 crore doses. However, several parts of the country are dealing with a new Covid outbreak, and many state governments have reported that vaccine stocks are running low.
India has the second-highest number of cases in the world, after the United States, with 1.36 crore total infections.
Sputnik V functions by transmitting sections of a pathogen to a weakened Covid virus, which then activates an immune response in the body. Sputnik V trials are currently underway in India for approximately 1,600 people aged 18 to 99. Last September, Dr Reddy’s collaborated with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) to conduct the trials.
“India is a major vaccine producer and a key partner in the production of Sputnik V. RDIF has established collaborations with a number of India’s leading pharmaceutical companies to manufacture Sputnik V, which will be used to vaccinate India’s population as well as to distribute the Russian vaccine globally. In India, over 850 million doses of Sputnik V will be manufactured annually, enough to vaccinate over 425 million people around the world “The Russian Direct Investment Fund’s CEO, Kirill Dmitriev, said.
