RDIF proposes Sputnik Light as booster shot in India

The talks on production of Russia’s anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccine Sputnik Light in India are in advanced stage and the single shot jab is being proposed to be administered as a booster for people already inoculated with two doses of Covishield.

“The talks on Sputnik Light are nearing completion,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told journalists in New Delhi. He was asked about talks on producing the single shot version of Russian Sputnik V anti-Covid-19 jab in India.

The RDIF stated that a clinical trial of a combination of Sputnik Light with the AstraZeneca vaccine had demonstrated that it induced strong immunity and had a high safety profile. “The AstraZeneca vaccine is produced in India under the Covishield brand and Sputnik Light could be successfully applied as a booster in partnership with Serum Institute of India, which already produces the two vaccines,” it added.

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The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which is promoting the Sputnik V vaccine around the world, also stated that it had also provided regulatory authorities in India with documents for registration of Sputnik M – the vaccine for adolescents aged 12-17. The Russia's Ministry of Health registered Sputnik M on November 24, 2021, and cleared it for use for inoculation of adolescents.

Lavrov was in New Delhi for the first India-Russia 2+2 dialogue and the summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Lavrov discussed with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar the cooperation between India and Russia to contain the Covid-19 pandemic. It was also discussed and reviewed during the summit between Modi and Putin.

The two sides agreed to fast-track mutual recognition of anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccination certificates to inoculated citizens of India and Russia, acknowledging that it would further facilitate movement of persons between the two countries.

Russia’s two-dose Sputnik V vaccine is already being used in India after it received an emergency use authorization from the national regulator in April 2021. The vaccine, however, has not yet been approved by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The RDIF stated that it had reached agreements with leading pharmaceutical companies of India, including Serum Institute of India (SII), the world’s largest vaccine producer, as well as Gland Pharma, Hetero Biopharma, Panacea Biotec, Stelis Biopharma, Virchow Biotech and Morepen. “Today India is the leading production hub for Sputnik V and Sputnik Light vaccines.”

“A major partner of RDIF, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, has conducted additional clinical trials of Sputnik Light in India. Positive data from the trials has also been presented to India's regulator”.

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