Serum Institute of India gets preliminary approval to make COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V
In a major development, the Serum Institute of India (SII) has received permission from the Drug Controller General of India to make Sputnik V, the Russian COVID-19 vaccine.
Serum Institute of India will test, analyze and manufacture the Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V at its Pune plant.
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According to the sources, the Drug Controller General of India grants the Serum Institute of India the permission to manufacture SPUTNIK V for examination tests and analysis at its licensed facility at Hadapsar.
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The test license granted to SII means it can develop and manufacture the vaccine for testing, but cannot sell it.
Sputnik V was approved by DCGI and became the third vaccine of India against COVID-19. On May 14, the first dose of Sputnik V was administered in Hyderabad.
The Russian vaccine was being registered for use in more than 65 countries, however, it was yet to be approved by the EU or US health authorities.
At 91.6 percent, Sputnik V is having a higher efficacy as compared to the two vaccines that were currently being administered in India - Covishield, and Covaxin.
Russia registered Sputnik - named after the Soviet-era satellite - in August 2020. As per the trial results published in the medical journal The Lancet it is more than 90 percent effective in symptomatic cases after two doses.
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