News Analysis India

Tag: Russian Direct Investment Fund

  • Production of Sputnik V COVID vaccine in India to go fully on stream in September: RDIF

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: The production of Russia’s coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V in India is expected to come fully on stream in September, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) informed on Saturday.

    “Production in India is expected to come fully onstream in September and RDIF expects India to become a major production hub for the Sputnik V vaccine with such companies as Serum Institute of India, the world’s biggest vaccine producer, Gland Pharma, Hetero Biopharma, Panacea Biotec, Stelis Biopharma, Virchow Biotech and Morepen Laboratories working to produce the vaccine,” a statement issued by RDIF read.

    Regarding delay in manufacturing of second component batches, they said, “Reports about Sputnik V second component production delays in India based on anonymous sources are incorrect. A number of RDIF partners in India have already produced the second component batches, which are undergoing verification at the Gamaleya Center in Russia. Transfer of technology to partners in India is also in process and there is an active exchange between Russian and Indian vaccine production specialists.”

    Further explaining it said, “RDIF plans to accelerate deliveries of Sputnik V and Sputnik Light to India already in August.” Earlier, Dr Reddy’s said due to the spike of COVID-19 cases in Russia, the arrival of Sputnik V dose is getting delayed and the situation may ease by August end.

  • RDIF, Panacea Biotec launch production of Sputnik V vaccine in India; 100 mn doses to be made annually

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Domestic pharma major Panacea Biotec in collaboration with Russian sovereign wealth fund RDIF has begun the production of ‘Sputnik V’ COVID-19 vaccine in India, according to a joint statement issued on Monday.

    As announced in April, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) – which markets the vaccine internationally, and Panacea Biotec agreed to produce 100 million doses per year of Sputnik V in India.

    The first batch of the COVID-19 vaccine produced at Panacea Biotec’s facilities at Baddi in Himachal Pradesh will be shipped to Russia’s Gamaleya Center for “quality control”, the joint statement said.

    Full-scale production of the vaccine is expected to start this summer, the statement said, without disclosing the exact month in which the large-scale production would start.

    “Launch of production in India in partnership with Panacea Biotec marks an important step in helping the country fight the pandemic,” RDIF chief executive officer Kirill Dmitriev said.

    The production of Sputnik V supports efforts of India’s authorities to leave behind the acute phase of coronavirus as soon as possible, while the vaccine will also be exported at a later stage to help prevent the spread of the virus in other countries around the world, he added.

    On the development, Panacea Biotec MD Rajesh Jain said, “This marks a significant step as we initiate production of Sputnik V. Together with RDIF, we hope to help bring a sense of normalcy back to people across the country and around the world.”

    Sputnik V was registered in India under the emergency use authorisation procedure on April 12, 2021, and vaccination against coronavirus with the Russian vaccine started on May 14.

    Domestic drug major Dr Reddy’s Laboratories on May 14 had said that as part of a limited pilot, the soft launch of the Sputnik V vaccine has commenced and the first dose of the vaccine was administered in Hyderabad.

    “Efficacy of Sputnik V is 97.6 per cent based on the analysis of data on coronavirus infection rate among those in Russia vaccinated with both components of Sputnik V from December 5, 2020 to March 31, 2021,” the statement said.

    Till date, Sputnik V has been registered in 66 countries, it added.

    The vaccine is based on a platform of human adenoviral vectors and “uses two different vectors for the two shots in a course of vaccination providing immunity with a longer duration than vaccines using the same delivery mechanism for both shots”, the statement said.

    The Sputnik V vaccine can be stored in a conventional refrigerator without any need to invest in additional cold-chain infrastructure, it added.

  • 1.5 lakh doses of Sputnik V arrives in India, likely to be incorporated in vaccination drive in few days

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: The first batch of the Russian Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V arrived in Hyderabad on Friday, the day the country started a symbolic rollout of vaccination against coronavirus for the 18-45 year age group amid acute vaccine shortage.

    The first lot of Sputnik V contains 1.5 lakh doses of the vaccine which works on the principle of delivering a weakened part of SARS CoV 2 using an adenovirus vector that triggers an immune response in the body. The vaccine has shown the efficacy of over 90 % against infection. 

    The vaccine is first set to be tested at the Central Drugs Laboratory of the Central Drugs Standards Control Organisation at Kasauli but it is not yet clear whether the vaccine will be given to states or will be available at private hospitals for paid vaccination.

    The Centre however had earlier hinted that foreign vaccines are likely to be available only through 50 % state quota, under which states or private hospitals will directly procure these vaccines.

    The international price of Sputnik V is USD 10 or about Rs 750 per dose. 

    “We are pleased to announce that the first consignment of 1,50,000 doses of the Sputnik V vaccine has landed in Hyderabad from Russia,” said Deepak Sapra, CEO, API, and Services at Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories.

    The company, which has received approval from the CDSCO for the restricted emergency use of Sputnik V, has entered into a partnership with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) to conduct clinical trials of the vaccine.

    It has bagged the rights for distribution of the first 100 million doses in India, which was later enhanced to 125 million. 

    “The rollout of the consignment will be subject to the necessary clearances, which will be processed over the next few days. This initial quantity will be used across different channels as a pilot to line up our supply chain for the larger vaccination program rollout,” said Sapra.

    He also added that the subsequent consignments will arrive in the next few weeks.

    In a statement issued after the vaccine’s arrival in India, the Russian embassy meanwhile said that its local production is about to start soon and is planned to be gradually increased up to 850 million doses per year.

  • ‘India to make 850 millon Sputnik doses annually’: Vaccine makers lay out production plans after getting DGCI approval

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has said more than 850 million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine are going to be produced annually in India, which has also given approval for the emergency use of the vaccine against coronavirus infections in the country.

    The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has registered the vaccine under the emergency use authorisation procedure.

    This is based on results of clinical trials in Russia as well as positive data of additional Phase III local clinical trials in India conducted in partnership with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories.

    The vaccine has been approved for use in countries with a total population of 3 billion people or about 40 per cent of the global population, and India has become the 60th country to approve Sputnik V, RDIF, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, said in a statement.

    India is also the most populated country to register the vaccine and also the leading production hub for Sputnik V, it added.

    On Monday, sources said DCGI has granted permission for the restricted emergency use of Sputnik V with certain conditions.

    Sputnik V will be the third vaccine to be used in India against coronavirus.

    ALSO READ | COVID-19 vaccine shortage: Odisha Health Minister writes to Centre again

    In January, DCGI had given the emergency use authorisation for two COVID-19 vaccines — Covaxin of Bharat Biotech and Covishield of Oxford-AstraZeneca manufactured by Serum Institute of India in Pune.

    RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev said approval of the vaccine is a major milestone as both countries have been developing an extensive cooperation on clinical trials of Sputnik V in India and its local production.

    “The Russian vaccine has efficacy of 91.6 per cent and provides full protection against severe cases of COVID-19 as demonstrated by the data published in one of the leading medical journals, The Lancet,” he added.

    Noting that India is a vaccine-manufacturing hub and a strategic partner for production of Sputnik V, he said RDIF has created partnerships with a number of India’s leading pharmaceutical companies for production of Sputnik V which will provide for both vaccination of the population in India and global distribution of the vaccine.

    “Over 850 million doses of Sputnik V are going to be produced in India annually sufficient to vaccinate more than 425 million people around the world,” he said.

    ALSO READ | Shortage of vaccine: Mega camp in Capital put on hold

    According to the release, RDIF has agreements with India’s Gland Pharma, Hetero Biopharma, Panacea Biotec, Stelis Biopharma and Virchow Biotech aimed at production of more than 850 million doses per year.

    As per RDIF, Sputnik V has a number of key advantages, including that there are no strong allergies caused by Sputnik V.

    The price of the vaccine is less than USD 10 per shot and it uses two different vectors for the two shots in a course of vaccination, providing immunity with a longer duration than vaccines using the same delivery mechanism for both shots, it added.

    Other countries that have approved use of Sputnik V include Argentina, Bolivia, Hungary, UAE, Iran, Mexico, Pakistan, Bahrain and Sri Lanka.

  • Lavrov says production of Indian COVID-19 vaccine in Russia cannot be ruled out

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Russian side has signed several contracts with Indian firms to manufacture over 700 million doses of the anti-coronavirus Sputnik V vaccine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday and indicated that there was also a possibility that an Indian vaccine could be manufactured in Russia.

    At a joint press event after holding wide-ranging talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Lavrov lauded India’s vaccine manufacturing capacity and said Russia has close cooperation with the country on vaccines to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

    He said the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) signed contracts with several Indian contractors to manufacture the Sputnik V vaccine to the tune of 700-750 million doses.

    This becomes possible because of the manufacturing capacity in India, he added.

    “I do not exclude (the scenario) that further cooperation could cover the manufacturing of the Indian vaccine in Russia. I guess the experts are supposed to discuss this and to assess the efficiency of such a cooperation,” Lavrov said while answering a question on the possibility of India’s indigenous vaccine COVAXIN being manufactured in Russia in the near future.

    In his remarks at the press interaction, Jaishankar said in meeting the COVID challenge, the India-Russia pharmaceutical collaboration has become more serious and “we have a Russian vaccine under discussion for production in India”.

    Responding to the question on Sputnik V, he said, “We had a discussion and clearly that decision has to be taken by our regulatory authorities.”

    “For us, were those vaccines to be made in India, it would be one more affirmation of the importance of made in India and our own vaccine capacities,” he asserted.

    Jaishankar said that so far India has sent COVAXIN to three-four countries abroad and going forward it would certainly like to promote “made in India and invented in India”.

    The RDIF and drug firm Panacea Biotec on Monday said they have agreed to produce 100 million doses per year of Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine in India.

    The RDIF has also partnered with other Indian pharma firms such as Hetero, Gland Pharma and Stelis Biopharma to produce millions of Sputnik V vaccine in India.

    An expert panel of India’s central drug authority has also sought additional data and information from Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, which has sought emergency use authorisation for Sputnik V, while deferring its decision on it till the next meeting, according to sources.