The Serum Institute of India (SII) has applied to the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) seeking permission for a test license to manufacture Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V. It is the third vaccine to be approved by India’s drugs regulator after AstraZeneca’s Covishield – manufactured by SII – and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin.
Russia-made Sputnik V vaccine is currently being distributed in India by Dr Reddy’s Laboratories.
The SII has already told the government that it will be able to manufacture and supply 10 crore Covishield doses in June, while it is also manufacturing the Novavax vaccine, the regulatory clearance for which is awaited from the United States.
A consignment of 30 lakh doses of Sputnik V landed in Hyderabad on Tuesday.
The Union health ministry has, meanwhile, finalised arrangements with Hyderabad-based vaccine manufacturer Biological-E to book 30 crore Covid-19 vaccine doses, set to be manufactured and stockpiled from August to December the year 2021.
As per a health ministry statement on Thursday, an advance payment of ₹1,500 crore will be made to Biological-E from the Centre.