Sputnik V, a Russian anti-COVID19 vaccine, started to be used in India, Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) reports.
Sputnik V was the first coronavirus vaccine produced outside India. The drug has become an important part of the largest global campaign to vaccinate the population against COVID-19.
The first vaccinations with the drug were made today in Hyderabad after the delivery of the first batch of Sputnik V to India on May 1. Delivery of the second batch of the drug to India is expected before the end of this week.
The Sputnik V vaccine was approved in India on April 12, 2021 as part of the accelerated registration procedure. India is the leading manufacturing hub for the Russian vaccine. RDIF has entered into agreements with India’s largest pharmaceutical manufacturers (Glass Pharma, Hetero Biopharma, Panacea Biotec, Stelis Biopharma, Virchow Biotech) to produce more than 850 million doses of Sputnik V per year.
To date, Sputnik V has been registered in 65 countries with a total population of over 3.2 billion people. Post-vaccination studies in a number of countries demonstrate that Sputnik V is the safest and most effective vaccine against coronavirus. In terms of the number of approvals received by state regulators, Sputnik V ranks second in the world.
Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), said:
Sputnik V is the first vaccine produced outside India that the country uses to combat coronavirus. RDIF is ready to support Indian partners to launch Sputnik V mass vaccination as soon as possible. A safe and effective Russian vaccine, which has already been approved by 65 countries, will make an important contribution to expanding vaccination in India and reducing the number of cases of coronavirus. “
