Sputnik Light's speedy launch likely in India; application for regulatory approval soon

In a potential boost to the vaccination drive, there is a big possibility of a speedy launch of Russia's single-dose COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik Light in India. As per ANI sources, Dr Reddy's is in talks with the Centre to bring this vaccine to the country and an application seeking regulatory approval is likely to be filed soon. Developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology and financed by the Russian Direct Investment Fund, Sputnik Light has demonstrated the efficacy of 79.4% as compared to 91.4% for the two-shot Sputnik V.

The phase 3 clinical trial involving 7,000 people was conducted in multiple countries including Russia, the UAE and Ghana. In a statement issued after the approval of the vaccine in May, the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology stated that it had proven effective against all strains of COVID-19 and no serious adverse events were reported. While India received 30 lakh Sputnik V doses from Russia a day earlier, domestic production of this vaccine will begin in August with a target of manufacturing 850 million doses.

COVID-19 vaccination in India

Apart from COVISHIELD and COVAXIN, the DCGI accepted the recommendations of the Subject Expert Committee of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, paving way for the approval of Sputnik V on April 12. Moreover, the Union government declared that those vaccines that have been granted emergency approval for restricted use by USFDA, EMA, UK MHRA, PMDA Japan, or which are listed in WHO (Emergency Use Listing) will be granted emergency use approval in India. In a huge announcement on April 19, the Centre allowed the vaccination of all adults from May 1 onwards and mentioned that vaccine manufacturers can supply 50 per cent of its doses to state governments and in the open market.

 A total of 17,06,49,129 persons have been inoculated in India whereas 4,36,74,868 of them have received the second dose of the vaccine too. The Union government has asserted that over 216 crore doses of vaccines will be manufactured in India between August and December. This includes COVISHIELD (75 crore doses), COVAXIN (55 crore doses), Bio E Sub Vaccine (30 crore doses), Zydus Cadila DNA vaccine (5 crore doses), SII-Novavax (20 crore doses), BB Nasal Vaccine (10 crore doses), Genova mRNA vaccine (6 crore doses) and Sputnik V (15.6 crore doses). This is expected to speed up the inoculation drive which has been affected by a paucity of vaccine doses.