SII to manufacture COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V from September, announces RDIF

In a major development, the Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) will be manufacturing the COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V in the month of September. The CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Kirill Dmitriev, said while the Serum Institute of India will be starting the production of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine in September, there are some other manufactures too which are ready to manufacture the Russian vaccine in India. Also Read | Himachal Pradesh: At least 15 missing following flash floods in Kangra RDIF stated that the first batch of the Sputnik V vaccines was expected to be produced at SII in September. Also Read | Petrol and Diesel prices in India: Do you know how much are you paying as tax? It further stated that SII has already received cell and vector samples from the Gamaleya Center following the approval by DCGI for their import. The company is aimed to manufacture more than 300 million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine in India per year, the RDIF added. It is pertinent to mention that India has already started inoculating the Sputnik V vaccine. It was the third vaccine to be approved by the country after Covishield and Covaxin. Meanwhile, Dr. Reddys Laboratories Ltd on Monday announced that the Sputnik V is now available in 50 cities and towns across the country. -PTC News