Russia’s sovereign wealth fund Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has entered into a strategic agreement with Indian multinational pharmaceutical company Dr. Reddy’s to distribute 100 million Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine candidate in India.
The Hyderabad-based pharma firm will also help RDIF to conduct clinical trials for the Russia’s first official COVID-19 vaccine subject to approvals from India’s Drugs Controller General (DGCI). A successful trail can lead to wider vaccine availability in India by the end of the year.
In his statement to the press RDIF chief executive officer Kirill Dmitriev said, “India is amongst most severely impacted countries from COVID 19 and we believe our human adenovirus dual vector platform will provide a safe and scientifically validated option to India in the battle against covid-19.”
Meanwhile, Mr. G V Prasad, co-chairman & managing director of Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories asserted, “We will be conducting Phase 3 trials in India to ensure safety and efficacy for the Indian population and to meet the requirements of the Indian regulators. Sputnik V vaccine could provide a credible option in our fight against COVID 19 in India.”
Developed by Gamaleya Research Institute and the Russian defence ministry, Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine was cleared after just few rounds of clinical trials after just 2 months. By doing so it became first country in the world to register a COVID-19 vaccine.
Russian officials have claimed that the vaccine candidate underwent necessary tests while Russian President Vladimir Putin said that full-scale production was expected to start in September.
Russian health ministry have claimed that their COVID-19 vaccine offers lasting immunity from the coronavirus for up to two years.
