Sputnik V to be manufactured in India, production up to 850 million doses per year

As the first batch of Sputnik V arrived in India on Saturday evening, Russian envoy Nikolay Kudashev expressed delight at the delivery meant to aid India's battle against the second COVID-19 wave. The Russian envoy has informed that local production of Sputnik V jabs is slated to begin soon and will gradually be increased to nearly 850 million doses per year. The Russia-made COVID-19 vaccine had received India's nod as the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) on April 14 registered the vaccine under the Emergency Authorization Procedure. 

"Happy to share that the first batch of the Sputnik V vaccine was delivered in Hyderabad today! As Russia and India continue dedicated joint efforts to combat the COVID-19, this move is especially important to support the Indian Government's endeavours to mitigate the deadly second wave and save lives," Ambassador Kudashev said on Saturday. 

While it is being imported initially, more than 850 million doses of the Russian vaccine will also be produced in India annually. Dr Reddy’s and Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) entered into a partnership to conduct the clinical trials of the Sputnik V vaccine and the rights for distribution in India.

Sputnik arrives in India

The vaccine’s efficacy is reported at 91.4% based on data analysis of the final control point of clinical trials, states its official website, which has been reviewed by Lancet journal. Currently, the vaccine’s clinical trials are underway in the UAE, Egypt, Venezuela and Belarus while it has been registered in Algeria, Argentina, Belarus, Bolivia and Serbia for inoculation, state reports. In September 2020, Dr. Reddy’s and Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) entered into a partnership to conduct the clinical trials of the Sputnik V vaccine and the rights for distribution in India.

As per its official website, Sputnik V is the world’s first registered vaccine based on a well-studied human adenoviral vector-based platform. Ranking as one of WHO's top 10 candidate vaccines, Sputnik V is currently conducting post-registration clinical trial in Russia with 40,000 volunteers. While the vaccine's overall efficacy is confirmed at 91.4%, it boasts a 100% efficacy against severe cases of coronavirus. The cost of one dose of the vaccine for international markets will be less than $10 and Sputnik V is a two-dose vaccine that can be stored at a temperature of +2 to +8 degrees Celsius. Apart from India, Brazil, China, South Korea are RDIF's international partners.

India's vaccination drive 

India began its COVID-19 vaccination drive on January 16, aiming to vaccinate 3 crore health care workers. Its second phase of vaccination kicked off on March 1. The second phase was dedicated to those above 60 years of age and those above 45 years with co-morbidities - registered on CoWIN portal and walk-ins at some hospitals. On April 1, the Centre opened up vaccination for all above 45 years and from May 1, 18 years and above will be eligible to get themselves vaccinated. So far, India has administered 12,70,56,746 beneficiaries with the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine whereas 2,79,32,889 individuals have received both the jabs. Amongst all states, Maharashtra has administered the most number of total jabs with 1,61,84,823 inoculations.