Dr Reddy's expects first lot of Russia's COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V by May end

In September 2020, Dr Reddys and RDIF entered into a partnership to conduct clinical trials of SputnikV, developed by the Gamaleya National Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology and the rights for distribution of the first 100 million doses in India.

PTI

April 27, 2021 / 11:54 AM IST

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Dr Reddy's Laboratories, which has received approval from the Indian drug regulator for restricted emergency use of COVID-19 vaccineSputnik V,on Tuesday said it expects the first lot of stock from Russian Direct Investment Fund by May end.

In September 2020, Dr Reddys and RDIF entered into a partnership to conduct clinical trials of SputnikV, developed by the Gamaleya National Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology and the rights for distribution of the first 100 million doses in India.

Later, it was enhanced to 125 million.

''We are targeting to have the first batches imported by Q1, and are trying our best to have them by end-May,'' A Dr Reddy's spokesperson told PTI in an email reply.

RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev in a virtual press conference recently said he expected over 50 million doses ofSputnikV vaccine to be manufactured in India by this summer.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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