Local production of Sputnik V COVID – 19 vaccine in India may lower its market price :
The current price of the Sputnik V COVID vaccine in the Indian market is around Rs. 995 per dose. This includes the MRP[1] of Rs. 948 plus a GST[2] of 5%. This GST applies to all imported doses.
A spokesperson from Dr. Reddy’s recently claimed that there is a possibility of a lower price point soon. He added that this price drop would happen once the local manufacturing of the vaccine begins. The company, however, is unable to give an exact number at the moment.
The spokesperson also disclosed that the company is actively working to bring Sputnik Light to India. This is a single–dose COVID – 19 vaccine.
In the second week of May 2021, Dr. Reddy’s commenced a limited pilot soft launch of Sputnik V vaccine. This was done in Hyderabad. The drug firm plans to extend this to other cities and ramp up its launch over the next few weeks.
This pilot launch helped to check the -18 degrees cold storage, track – and – trace, and CoWin integration of the product. Other arrangements have also been tested through this launch.
The commercial launch of the locally manufactured Sputnik V vaccine is expected to be around mid – June. In recent times, the company has been exploring the possibilities of partnerships with both private and public stakeholders.
The supply of the Sputnik V vaccine will commence from the Indian manufacturing partners. The delivery of the additional doses is expected to happen within the next few months.
Sputnik V COVID vaccine: Manufacturing in India
Over 60 countries across the globe have approved the use of the Sputnik V COVID – 19 vaccine. This covers a population range of around 3 billion people. Per the phase III trials, the efficacy rate of this vaccine is about 91.6 %.
Dr. Reddy’s has a contract with the RDIF[3] for around 250 million vaccine units. The company has stated that it will ramp up vaccine production in the next quarter of 2021. It claimed that over 60 to 70 % of the products would be made in India. Most of this “Made in India” product is expected to be available for use in the country itself.
Sputnik V vaccine is also being produced by other drug firms. This includes Hetero Biologics, Virchow Biotec, Panacea Biotec, Gland Pharma, Stelis Biopharma, and Shilpa Medicare.
The distribution and marketing of Sputnik V vaccine in India will be overlooked by Dr. Reddy’s. It will also monitor the regulatory, safety, and pharmacovigilance aspects of the vaccine in India.
To date, India has received around two consignments of the Sputnik V vaccine from Russia. India received the first batch of the vaccine on 1 May 2021. On 14 May 2021, inoculations using this vaccine began in Hyderabad.
The Russian Ambassador to India claimed that it made this move to assist India in its fight against COVID – 19. He added that this vaccine had been used to vaccinate the Russians since the second half of 2020. He further claimed that Sputnik V was effective against the new strains of COVID – 19. The Russian envoy also expects the production scale in India to rise to around 850 million doses per year gradually.
On 12 April 2021, Sputnik V vaccine was approved for use in India and granted emergency use authorization.
Abbreviation :
- 1. Maximum Retail Price
- 2. Goods and Service Tax
- 3. Russian Direct Investment Fund