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    HomeNewsIndiaMankind Pharma inks pact with RDIF for distribution of Sputnik V vaccine in India

    Mankind Pharma inks pact with RDIF for distribution of Sputnik V vaccine in India

    RDIF had in September entered into a partnership with Dr Reddy's Laboratories to conduct human clinical trials of the Sputnik V vaccine in India.

    Moneycontrol News
    October 18, 2020 / 10:27 IST
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    Mankind Pharma has partnered with Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) for the sale and distribution of Russia's COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V in India.

    "Mankind pharma has signed a co-operation agreement with RDIF for sales and distribution of Russian coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V," sources told Economic Times, adding an official announcement would be made by next week.

    RDIF has reached agreements with Indian manufacturers to produce 300 million doses of the shot, sources told the newspaper.

    Track this LIVE blog for all the latest updates on coronavirus pandemic

    RDIF in September entered into a partnership with Dr Reddy's Laboratories to conduct human clinical trials of Sputnik V vaccine in India. Under the agreement, RDIF will supply 100 million doses to the Hyderabad-based pharma company after receiving requisite approval in India.

    COVID-19 Vaccine

    Frequently Asked Questions

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    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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    On October 17, Dr Reddy’s got the go-ahead from the Drug Control General of India (DCGI) to conduct phase 2 and 3 clinical trials for Sputnik V in India.

    The drugmaker said the multi-centre and randomised controlled study would test safety and immunogenicity. The phase 2 trial would include 100 subjects, while phase 3 would have 1,400 volunteers.

    The approval came after an expert panel of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) recommended granting permission to Dr Reddy's.

    Read: DRL gets DCGI s nod to conduct COVID-19 vaccine phase 2/3 human trials

    On August 11, 2020, the Sputnik V vaccine developed by the Gamaleya National Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology was registered by the Ministry of Health of Russia and became the world's first registered vaccine against COVID-19 based on the human adenoviral vectors platform.

    Sputnik V is undergoing phase 3 clinical trials in Russia involving 40,000 participants, with 16,000 people having already received the first dose of the two-shot vaccine. Interim results are expected to be published in early November.

    The phase 3 trial of the vaccine commenced in the UAE last week.

    Click here for Moneycontrol's full coverage of the COVID-19 vaccine

    Moneycontrol News
    first published: Oct 18, 2020 10:27 am

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