SEC to discuss Dr Reddy's application for emergency use of Sputnik V vaccine

NEW DELHI: The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation's (CDSCO) Subject Expert Committee (SEC) is going to meet on Wednesday afternoon to discuss Dr Reddy's Laboratories application seeking emergency use approval (EUA) for SputnikV, a Russian Vaccine.

"Today, SEC meeting is scheduled to be conducted at 12 pm to discuss the application of Dr Reddy seeking emergency use approval for Sputnik V vaccine," a government official confirmed ANI.

On February 19, Dr Reddy's Laboratories announced that it has initiated the process with the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of the well-studied human adenoviral vector-based platform vaccine candidate, Sputnik V.

Last year in September, Dr Reddy's partnered with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) to conduct the clinical trials of the Sputnik V and for its distribution rights in India. The vaccine is currently undergoing the phase 3 clinical trial in India.

According to Dr Reddy's, Sputnik V has demonstrated an efficacy rate of 91.6 per cent in the interim analysis of phase 3 clinical trial, which included data on 19,866 volunteers in Russia, who received both the first and second doses of the vaccine. Sputnik V maintained a consistent efficacy at 91.8 per cent even among the group of 2,144 volunteers over 60 years old.

Sputnik V is being developed by Russia's Gamaleya National Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology to fight against COVID-19 based on the human adenoviral vector platform.