Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine, which is being marketed as world’s first coronavirus vaccine, has received a green signal from the Indian authorities to begin clinical trials in the country.
The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has given approval to Dr Reddy’s, a global pharmaceutical company headquartered in India, to conduct phase 2 and 3 clinical human trials of the Sputnik V, the Russian vaccine.
Dr. Reddy’s has partnered up with Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) on September 16 to carry out clinical trials and distribution of the Russian vaccine in India.
Co-chairman and Managing Director of Dr Reddy’s Laboratories G.V. Prasad in a statement said “This is a significant development that allows us to commence the clinical trials in India and we are committed to bringing in a safe and efficacious vaccine to combat the pandemic.”
“On regulatory approval in India, RDIF shall supply to Dr Reddy`s 100 million doses of the vaccine. The Sputnik V vaccine, which is based on well-studied human adenoviral vector platform with proven safety, is undergoing clinical trials for the coronavirus pandemic,” a statement from the Russian fund had earlier stated.
As of now, the authorities are hoping that the deliveries of the vaccine could begin towards the end of 2020. “The agreement between RDIF and Dr Reddy`s reflects the growing awareness of countries and organisations to have a diversified anti-COVID vaccine portfolio to protect their populations,” RDIF added.
Source: Thanks WIONews.com