Coronavirus: Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V arrives in India, clinical trials shortly

Russia's health ministry on Wednesday had said that the vaccine has demonstrated an efficacy rate of 92%.

Hyderabad: Sputnik V vaccine for COVID-19, developed by Russia's Gamaleya National Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, has arrived in India following the nod to Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company, Dr Reddy's Laboratories to conduct an adaptive phase 2/3 human clinical trial for the vaccine in India.

A video surfaced on social media, which shows containers with logos of Sputnik V and Dr Reddy's being unloaded from a small truck.

New Indian Express quoted a senior official of Dr Reddy's saying that the vaccines have arrived in India and said that the clinical trials will also start shortly.

Meanwhile, Russia's health ministry on Wednesday had said that the vaccine has demonstrated an efficacy rate of 92%.

The confirmation is based on the first interim data from the largest randomised, placebo-controlled Phase-III clinical trials in Russia involving 40,000 volunteers, a press release from Gamaleya and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said.

The trials evaluated the efficacy among over 16,000 volunteers who received the vaccine or placebo 21 days after the first injection.

In September 2020, Dr Reddy’s and Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, entered into a partnership to conduct clinical trials of Sputnik V vaccine and its distribution in India.

As part of the partnership, RDIF will supply 10 crore doses of the vaccine to Dr Reddy’s upon regulatory approval.