Sputnik V COVID-19 Vaccine: Hetero Signs Deal with Russia to Produce Coronavirus Vaccine in India

Moscow: Russia's sovereign wealth fund and Indian pharmaceutical company Hetero have agreed to produce over 100 million doses per year in India of the Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19. It was announced on Sputnik V Twitter account on Friday.

Sputnik V COVID-19 Vaccine:

The statement said that Hetero and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which has been backing the vaccine and marketing it globally, plan to start Sputnik V production in India at the beginning of 2021.

Trials of Phases I-II are ongoing in India.

Drugmaker Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd announced that it is expecting the late-stage trials to be over by as early as March 2021.

B. Murali Krishna Reddy, Director of International Marketing, Hetero Labs Limited said in a statement, "While we look forward to the clinical trial results in India, we believe that manufacturing the product locally is crucial to enable swift access to patients."

He further says that the collaboration is a step towards their commitment to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

Phase III trials are on in Belarus, the UAE, Venezuela and other countries as well as Phase II-III in India.

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