Russia, India in talks for Covid-19 vaccine production

The Russian government is in talks with India to ramp up the production of the Sputnik-V coronavirus vaccine candidate and carry out Phase-III human trials in the country.

The Russians are keen to utilise India’s manufacturing facilities to step up production of the Sputnik-V developed by Gamaleya Scientific Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, the first such vaccine in the world against Covid-19.

“There has been significant movement, outreach has been extended to several companies in India. Two-three have come forward and are also in touch with the Russian government and the vaccine team,” V K Paul, member of Niti Ayog, told reporters here.

He described the discussions with Russia as a “win-win situation” for both the countries.

“India can manufacture that vaccine in large and significant quantities, which is good for Russia and India and a specific part of that quantity can also be provided to the world,” Paul said.

He said that Indian scientists have also looked at the data of the vaccine trials and there would be Phase-III trials in the normal course if required.

“We are working in partnership with this vaccine candidate for manufacturing, trial, and regulatory facilitation in the spirit of partnership, science and humanity,” Paul said.

Russia had fast-tracked the Sputnik-V vaccine by granting emergency approvals, a move that was criticised by other countries. However, the results of the preliminary studies of the vaccine, published in the medical journal The Lancet, showed that it had a good safety profile detected over 42 days, and induced antibody responses in all the 76 participants in 21 days.

Caution against reckless behaviour:

As India witnessed a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases, Paul said the irresponsible behaviour of people and avoiding tests despite having symptoms could jeopardise the government’s battle against the coronavirus pandemic.

“The situation is still in our command as we have successfully reduced the mortality rate and the share of active cases. However, we have received complaints from the state governments that people are not conforming to Covid-19 testing and appropriate behaviour. This can make India's case volatile,” Paul said.