Deepak Sapra, Dr Reddy’s Chief Executive Officer, API and Services, said the pharma giant is looking at doling out the Russia-made Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 in India in this quarter itself. Dr Reddys Laboratories has recently received approval from the Drug Controller General of India (DGCI) for restricted emergency use of Sputnik V in India.
In an exclusive interview to CNN-News18, Sapra said there is no raw material constraint for production of the vaccine locally that will begin in a few months’ time, adding the company is looking at May-June for first rollout of locally made doses. “We are committed towards providing India the vaccines that it requires. We are dealing by the hour and not by days or months to increase our production capacity. We are working with all our partners in India and Russia to expedite the processes and looking to cut the slack,” Sapra said.
Stating that the first does will come from Russia, he said, “Later, we will have doses from both Russia and the ones made in India. May-June is the time frame for our first rollout.”
When asked about the safety and efficacy factor, Sapra said, “The approval that we have for Sputnik V has a lot of data from India. The combination of Russian and Indian data shows that Sputnik V is very safe for India.”
He further said the supply chain for raw materials is under control. “We have everything that we need. We are not facing any constraint as far as Sputnik V is concerned.”
Sapra said the process is underway to expand the the availability of Sputnik V to all Indians. “We are in touch with private and government agencies,” he added.
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