Sputnik Light Made In India: Govt Allows Export Of Russian Vaccine

New Delhi: Sputnik Light is yet to be to be approved for emergency use in India, but the Central government has permitted the export of Russia’s single-dose COVID-19 vaccine.

Indian drug firm Hetero Biopharma Limited, one of the partners of Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) in the production of Sputnik Light, has been allowed to export 40 lakh doses of the COVID vaccine, PTI reported quoting sources.

Russian vaccine Sputnik V received emergency use authorisation from Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) in April, and is being used as the third vaccine in India’s mass inoculation programme. Sputnik Light is the same as component-1 of Sputnik V.

Also Read: What Is Sputnik Light Approved For Phase III Bridging Trials In India?

Russian Ambassador Nicholay Kudashev had written to the Indian government that Hetero Biopharma Limited has already manufactured 2 million doses of Sputnik Light, but the six-month shelf life of the vaccine may expire before it is approved in India. To avoid wastage, India should allow export of the vaccine, the ambassador had urged.

RDIF has been working closely with Indian pharmaceutical companies to ramp up production of Sputnik V and Sputnik Light vaccines so that they could be used in the local and global markets.

DCGI last month gave permission to Dr Reddy’s Laboratory to conduct phase-3 bridging trials of Sputnik Light in India.