Sputnik target set at 850 mn doses yearly

New Delhi, April 13

The Drug Controller General of India on Tuesday approved Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use in India, making it the third registered jab in the country. The approval came a day after subject experts recommended that Russia-made vaccine be cleared for local use.

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Hours after the Indian approval, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said over 850 million doses of the vaccine would be produced in the country annually.

Kirill Dmitriev, CEO, Russian Direct Investment Fund, said, “India is a vaccine-manufacturing hub and our strategic partner for the production of Sputnik V. The RDIF has partnered with a number of India’s leading pharmaceutical companies for the production of Sputnik V.” 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, Dmitriev said.

India is the 60th country to approve Sputnik V.

RDIF, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, said, “India is the leading production hub for Sputnik V. The RDIF has reached agreements with the leading pharmaceutical companies in the country — Gland Pharma, Hetero Biopharma, Panacea Biotec, Stelis Biopharma, Virchow Biotech — aimed at producing more than 850 million doses per year. India is the most populated country to register the Russian vaccine,” the RDIF said.

The vaccine will first be imported and later manufactured in India through local companies.

Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said the government would soon reveal the cost at which the vaccine would be procured for the national inoculation programme.

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