Russia seeks collaboration with India for manufacturing COVID-19 vaccine ‘Sputnik V': Sources
New Delhi: The Russian government has reached out to India seeking a collaboration for manufacturing its COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V' and conducting its phase 3 clinical trial here, sources said.
According to government sources, the matter was discussed by the national expert group on vaccine administration for COVID-19 in its meeting held on August 22.
Sputnik V has been developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology along with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF). The vaccine has not been tested in phase 3 or larger clinical trials.
There has been scepticism in some quarters about limited data related to the efficacy of the vaccine.
"The Russian government has reached out to the Indian government seeking a collaboration for manufacturing their COVID-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, and conducting its phase 3 trial here, a source in the government said.
"The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) along with the Department of Health Research has been asked to lead and look into the matter. They (Russian government officials) have shared some information and data on Sputnik V, while more data related to the safety and efficacy of the vaccine is awaited," the source said.
When asked if the Russian government has placed any formal request for the manufacture of its COVID-19 vaccine in India, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said at a press conference, "As far as Sputnik V vaccine is concerned, both India and Russia are in communication. Some initial information has been shared while some detailed information is awaited."
According to sources, Russian Ambassador to India Nikolay Kudashev has approached the office of Principal Scientific Advisor K VijayRaghavan as well as secretaries of the departments of biotechnology and health research in this regard.
Talking about COVID-19 vaccine development in India, ICMR Director General Balram Bhargava said, at a press briefing, on Tuesday that currently two vaccine candidates, indigenously developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with ICMR and Zydus Cadila Ltd, have completed phase 1 of the human clinical trials and they will start phase 2 trials.
Pune-based Serum Institute of India, which has partnered with AstraZeneca for manufacturing the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine candidate, has also started the process of conducting phase 2 and 3 human clinical trials of the candidate in India.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
