The Drugs Controller General of India has approved the emergency use of Covid-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, the Russian Direct Investment Fund sa...
The Drugs Controller General of India has approved the emergency use of Covid-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, the Russian Direct Investment Fund said on Tuesday. The Russian vaccine, being developed in India in partnership with Hyderabad-based Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, will be the third vaccine to get the approval after Serum Institute of India’s Covaxin and Bharat Biotech’s Covishield.
The announcement came hours after the Subject Expert Committee of the Indian drug regulator approved Sputnik-V. However, there has so far been no official confirmation on the approval of the vaccine from India’s drug regulator.
“The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund) announces that Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved the use of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against coronavirus in the country,” the RDIF said. “India has become the 60th country to approve Sputnik V.”
The Sputnik V vaccine had shown a 91.6% efficacy in late-stage trials, according to results published in February. No serious adverse events were found to be linked with the vaccination. The trial, however, did not include efficacy data of the vaccine for new variants of the coronavirus.
The vaccine is administered in two doses separated by 21 days, and requires a minus 18-20 degree Celsius cold chain to remain stable. Efforts are underway to...
