Serum Institute To Manufacture Sputnik Vaccine From September

Pic courtesy The Indian Express

New Delhi: The Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) will start manufacturing the anti-COVID vaccine Sputnik V from September, Russian authorities said on Tuesday.

The RDIF (Russian Direct Investment Fund) said they “intend to produce over 300 million doses in India per year” and technology transfer has already started.

“SII has already received cell and vector samples from the Gamaleya Center. With their import approved by the Drug Controller General of India), the cultivation process has begun,” read a statement from RDIF.

The announcement came as India is trying to ramp up its vaccination efforts. The target is to inoculate all the adult population by December.

On his part, SII chief Adar Poonawalla expressed happiness on the partnership with RDIF to manufacture the Sputnik vaccine. “We hope to make millions of doses in the coming months with trial batches starting in the month of September,” Poonawalla was quoted as saying by NDTV.