Wockhardt to export 100 mn doses of Sputnik COVID-19 vaccines 

Mumbai-based pharma company Wockhardt Limited has received approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) to export up to 80 million doses of Sputnik Light and 20 million doses of Sputnik V Component I vaccine, it said on Tuesday. 

CDSCO drug inspectors and experts from CDL Kasauli inspected the bulk vaccine and fill-finish manufacturing facilities at Waluj and Shendra, Aurangabad, before the approval was granted. 

The manufacturer said that its “state-of-the-art automated manufacturing facilities in Aurangabad are dedicated to produce world class high quality injectable products”.

Wockhardt entered into an agreement with Russian Direct Investment Fund and Enso Healthcare to manufacture and supply Sputnik V and Sputnik Light vaccines, which are created based on the technology by Gamaleya National Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology. 

Separately, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) granted approval to the single-shot Sputnik Light vaccine for restricted use in emergency situations in India. Sputnik Light is a one-dose vaccine and the same as the first component — recombinant human adenovirus serotype number 26 (rAd26) — of the two-dose Sputnik V vaccine.

The one-dose Sputnik Light vaccine is the latest – and the 9th – to be approved by the DCGI as part of the vaccination drive. The one-shot vaccine is the second COVID-19 vaccine to be made available in India by Dr Reddy’s.  

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya  said that the latest approval will “further strengthen the nation's collective fight against the pandemic”.

Also read: Sputnik Light: All you need to know about the one-dose COVID-19 vaccine

Also read: Dr Reddy’s gets DCGI approval for single-shot Sputnik Light vaccine