New Delhi: A committee of experts has granted emergency use approval to Sputnik-V, the vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) developed by Russia, in India.
After Covishield and Covaxin, this will become the third Covid-19 vaccine to be used in the country if it is given a go-ahead by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).
Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, the Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company, last week sought the government’s approval for the vaccine to be used in India. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) partnered with Dr Reddy’s in September 2020 to conduct clinical trials of Sputnik V in India.
The Russian vaccine has an efficacy of 91.6% based on the interim analysis of phase III clinical trials, which included data from 19,866 volunteers in Russia and is conducting its Phase III clinical trials in the UAE, India, Venezuela and Belarus, according to the Sputnik-V’s website.
Sputnik V, named after the first Soviet Space satellite, works on the principle of a weakened Covid virus delivering parts of a pathogen that triggers an immune response in the body.
The two-dose vaccine, developed by Russia’s Gamaleya Institute, costs less than $10 for each shot in international markets.
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