India to produce 850 mn Sputnik doses annually

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has said that India has become the 60th country to approve the use of Sputnik V against coronavirus and more than 850 million doses of the vaccine are going to be produced in the country annually.

The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has registered the vaccine under the emergency use authorisation procedure. This is based on results of clinical trials in Russia as well as positive data of additional Phase III local clinical trials in India conducted in partnership with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories.

The vaccine has been approved for use in countries with a total population of 3 billion people or about 40 per cent of the global population, and India has become the 60th country to approve Sputnik V, RDIF, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, said in a statement.

India is also the most populated country to register the vaccine and also the leading production hub for Sputnik V, it added.

RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev said the approval of the vaccine is a major milestone as both countries have been developing an extensive cooperation on clinical trials of Sputnik V in India and its local production.

TV BRICS reports with reference to Trinity Mirror.