SII to start production of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine from September
Pune/IBNS: World's largest vaccine manufacturer, Serum Institute of India (SII), is all set to start the production of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine in India from September, said the CEO of Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Kirill Dmitriev.
AFP reported that the Pune-based vaccine maker will produce 300 million doses of Sputnik V annually.
The parties intend to produce over 300 million doses of the vaccine in India per year with the first batch expected in September 2021," the RDIF said in a statement.
SII has received cell and vector samples from Russia's Gamaleya Centre, it added.
After the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) approved the import of the vaccine, the cultivation process has started after, the Russian sovereign wealth fund said.
The developers are also looking at the efficacy of the "mix and match" format with AstraZeneca vaccine, which is being produced by SII as Covishield in India and hope to publish the result by the end of this month.
A fraction of the Sputnik V vaccine doses produced by SII will also be exported to other countries, Dmitriev said.
Hyderabad-based Dr Reddy's Laboratories was the first to sign a deal for the distribution and then the production of the Russian vaccine has made a soft launch of the jab in 50 cities.
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