Sputnik V vaccine for Covid-19 to be priced at Rs 995 in India; first dose administered in Hyderabad

The company, in a statement, said the first dose was administered as part of a limited pilot. “Further consignments of imported doses are expected over the upcoming months. Subsequently, supply of Sputnik V vaccine will commence from Indian manufacturing partners,” it said.

Sputnik V, the vaccine developed by Russia, is now the third coronavirus vaccine to get emergency use approval, after Covishield (Serum Institute of India) and Covaxin (Bharat Biotech).

Phase 3 trials of the vaccine, conducted in Russia, have found it has an efficacy of 91.6 per cent.

The vaccine, developed by Gamaleya National Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology in Moscow, uses two different viruses that cause the common cold (adenovirus) in humans. The adenoviruses are weakened so they cannot replicate in humans and cannot cause disease. They are also modified so that the vaccine delivers a code for making the coronavirus spike protein. This aims to ensure that when the real virus tries to infect the body, it can mount an immune response in the form of antibodies.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) had partnered with Dr Reddy’s in September 2020 to conduct clinical trials in India.

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