Drugmaker Wockhardt has partnered with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) to produce and supply Sputnik V and Sputnik Light vaccines against Covid-19.
The agreement was reached with Enso Healthcare (part of Enso Group), RDIF's co-ordination partner for sourcing Sputnik V vaccines in India, Wockhardt said, without giving details.
About two months ago, Wockhardt Group Founder Chairman Dr Habil Khorakiwala had told
Vinay Maloo, Chairman of Enso Healthcare added that the partnership would facilitate large- scale manufacturing of Sputnik V and Sputnik Light. Recently, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund RDIF had also announced its partnership with Serum Institute of India.
Sputnik V is developed by the Gamaleya Institute and RDIF has multiple alliances in India to make 850 million doses a year to supply different countries. Local production is being done by Hetero, Virchow Biotech, Panacea Biotec, Gland Pharma, Stelis Biopharma and Shilpa Medicare. RDIF’s alliance with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories covers 250 million doses.
Till date, Sputnik V has been registered in 69 countries globally with a total population of over 3.7 billion people. Sputnik V demonstrates 83.1 percent efficacy against the Delta variant ofcoronavirus - higher than many other vaccines, the note said. It is also 94.4 percent effective against hospitalisations.