Large Part of Sputnik V Doses Produced in India To be Kept for Indians, Expect WHO Approval Soon: RDIF CEO

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), an investor of the Russian Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V, on Tuesday said Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) will begin production of Sputnik V in September.

Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of RDIF, said a large part of the doses that will be produced in India will be kept for Indians. 'Sputnik V being produced in India is great news for India Russia and rest of the world. A large part of the doses that are being produced in India will be for India. We expect the first batch to be produced by Serum Institute of India (SII) in September,' Dmitriev said.

Dmitriev said the vaccine is likely to be commercially availability in India by fall. 'Tying up with the SII has given our roll out capability a boost. This production capability of India will save millions in India and around the world. We expect to have commercial availability in India by fall,' he said, adding, 'We expect WHO approval soon. The data coming from many countries has been good.'

The RDIF, Dmitriev said, has data that says Sputnik V has 95 per cent efficacy. 'We have data showing over 95 per cent efficacy from many countries. We expect to apply for approval in India for Sputnik Light very soon. The SII will produce Sputnik Light as well…it will also be available to be mixed with Covishield.'

Dr Reddys Laboratories Ltd, which soft-launched Sputnik V in Hyderabad in May 14, has expanded the pilot project to over 50 other cities and towns in the country. In a tweet on Monday night, the city-based drug maker said it will strengthen the commercial rollout of Sputnik V in the coming weeks.

'Starting initially in Hyderabad today, the soft launch rollout of Sputnik V has scaled up speedily and reached cities and towns all over India- including but not limited to Hyderabad, Vizag, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, NCR, Chennai, Miryalaguda, Vijayawada, Baddi, Kolhapur, Kochi, Raipur, Chandigarh, Pune, Nagpur, Nashik,' it said in the tweet.

Recently, Dr Reddy's received nearly three million doses of Sputnik V from RDIF with which it has a pact to sell 125 million people doses (250 million vials) in India.

The Indian drug regulator has granted permission for restricted emergency use of Sputnik V, developed by the Gamaleya National Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology. 'Dr Reddys has partnered with major hospitals across the country for this purpose all of whom have successfully administered Sputnik V in India including ongoing commercial rollouts to the public,' the company added.