On Thursday, India’s vaccine maker Panacea Biotec Ltd. announced that it had agreed to produce up to 25 million doses of the Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V with the help of a drug substance made by Russia’s Generium.
Earlier, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) had informed about the vaccine’s production in India which might come fully on stream in September 2021.
The fund had stated, “Production in India is expected to come fully on stream 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 Biotech, Stelis Biopharma, Virchow Biotech and Morepen Laboratories working to produce the vaccine.”
Furthermore, on Monday, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories told ANI that the Sputnik V vaccine doses were expected to be available in the country within September or October.
In Hyderabad, Dr Reddy’s soft-launched the Russian vaccine on May 14 after receiving EUA (Emergency Use Authorization) in April 2021. It has reached many major Indian cities including Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, Chennai, Pune, Mumbai, Indore, Bhubaneswar, Nagpur, Lucknow and Jaipur among others.
Today, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that he had conducted a meeting with the Chairman of Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Satish Reddy, regarding Sputnik V’s production and supply.