Serum Institute of India gets preliminary nod to make Russia’s Sputnik V Covid vaccine
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Pune-based Serum Institute of India has got a preliminary approval of the country&#39;s drugs regulator to manufacture Russia&rsquo;s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine.</p>
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The Serum Institute has been given a test licence Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) which allows it to develop and manufacture the product for testing, but it cannot sell it.</p>
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&quot;We have got preliminary approval for Sputnik V. But actual manufacturing will take several months. In the meantime, our focus remains Covishield and Covovax,&quot; Serum Institute of India&#39;s (SII) spokesperson said.</p>
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<strong>Also read:</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/health-news/india-in-talks-with-us-giants-pfizer-moderna-j-j-to-explore-local-production-of-vaccines-92783.html">&nbsp;India in talks with US giants Pfizer, Moderna, J&amp;J to explore local production of vaccines</a></p>
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The company is currently manufacturing around 70 million doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID vaccine under the Covishield brand which has been the mainstay of India&rsquo;s inoculation campaign. The Serum Institute has also told the government that it will be able to manufacture and supply 100 million Covishield doses in June.</p>
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SII also has also signed a collaboration agreement with US pharma giant Novavax for producing its vaccine and marketing the shots once they are approved for use. This vaccine will be branded as Covavax.</p>
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Dr Reddy&#39;s Laboratories and five other Indian pharma firms also have a tie- up to produce Sputnik V vaccine which is being imported into India and is the third vaccine being used in the country&rsquo;s inoculation campaign along with Covishield and Bharat Bitotech&rsquo;s Covaxin.</p>
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<strong>Also read:</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/health-news/serum-institute-of-india-too-seeks-nod-to-produce-russia-s-sputnik-v-vaccine-92722.html">Serum Institute of India too seeks nod to produce Russia&rsquo;s Sputnik V vaccine</a></p>
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Sputnik V has already been soft launched in India, with the first dose administered in Hyderabad on May 14 by Dr Reddy&rsquo;s Laboratories which was the first Indian company to tie up with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which markets the shot internationally. Dr Reddy&rsquo;s Labs will start manufacturing the vaccine from next month.</p>
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The vaccine is priced at &#8377;995.40 per shot in the market, but the price is expected to come down once local production starts.</p>
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The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has already signed deals with five Indian companies to produce 750 million doses a year of Sputnik V in India.</p>
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Indian biotech firm Panacea Biotec Ltd began production of Sputnik V vaccine in the last week of May, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which markets the shot internationally, had said.</p>
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The first batch of doses made by the Indian company will be shipped to Gamaleya, the Moscow institute which developed the vaccine, for quality controls, RDIF said in a statement.</p>
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Full-scale production is expected to begin this summer, RDIF added. Panacea Biotec plans to produce 100 million doses of Sputnik V annually, RDIF had said in April.</p>
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The Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine was first approved in Russia on August 11 last year. With an efficacy of 91.6%, as published in the Lancet Medical Journal, the vaccine has been cleared and approved for mass use in more than 50 countries.&nbsp;</p>
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