Mankind pharma has collaborated with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) for sale and distribution of Russian vaccine Sputnik V in India. The cooperation agreement has been signed for sales and distribution of COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V, said a person in the know.
The announcement is likely to be made by next week, mentioned a report by The Economic Times. This deal comes after RDIF made agreements with Indian manufacturers to produce 300 million doses of the Russian COVID-19 vaccine.
The RDIF already has a partnership with Dr Reddy's to conduct clinical trials of the coronavirus vaccine and its distribution in India. Dr Reddy's would receive 100 million doses of the vaccine upon regulatory approval in the country.
Meanwhile, the Drug Control General of India (DCGI) on Saturday approved Dr Reddy's proposal to conduct clinical trials for Sputnik V in India. RDIF and Dr Reddy's faced some hiccups in their plans for clinical trials after the subject expert committee of the Central Drugs Standards Control Organisation (CDSCO) asked them to revisit their proposal and start trials with a smaller group of people as against a large one as planned. Instead of just Phase 3 study in India, Sputnik V would now undergo Phase 2 and 3 trials.
Dr Reddy's will conduct the trials with Phase 3 involving the participation of around 1,500 volunteers. The Russian vaccine is undergoing trials in the United Arab Emirates, Belarus and Venezuela.
Sputnik V is developed by the Gamaleya National Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology and was the first coronavirus vaccine in the world to receive regulatory approval. Russia has since approved a second COVID-19 vaccine is gearing up to give the nod to a third one.
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