PremiumNEW DELHI: The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), and global pharmaceutical company Wockhardt Ltd have partnered to produce and supply Sputnik V and Sputnik Light covid-19 vaccines. The agreement was reached under the aegis of Enso Healthcare (part of Enso Group), RDIF's coordination partner for sourcing Sputnik V vaccines in India.
To date, the Sputnik V vaccine has been registered in 69 countries globally with a total population of over 3.7 billion people. The data obtained by regulators of Argentina, Serbia, Bahrain, Hungary, Mexico, San Marino, UAE, among other countries, demonstrates that Sputnik V is one of the safest and most effective vaccines against coronavirus.
In particular, Sputnik V demonstrates 83.1% efficacy against the Delta variant of covid-19— higher than many other vaccines. The vaccine shows six times reduction of infection risk. Sputnik V is also 94.4% effective against hospitalisations, with 18 times reduction in such risk.
Dr Habil Khorakiwala, founder chairman of Wockhardt Group, said: “We are delighted to partner with RDIF to make a substantial contribution towards providing global supply of the Sputnik V and Sputnik Light vaccines which is one of the most efficacious approved vaccines commercially available. The arrangement upholds our ongoing commitment to fight against such a pandemic of global human importance."
Sputnik V is based on a proven and well-studied platform of human adenoviral vectors and uses two different vectors for the two shots in a course of vaccination, providing immunity with a longer duration than vaccines using the same delivery mechanism for both shots.
Sputnik Light is the first component of Sputnik V and is based on human adenovirus serotype 26.
Vinay Maloo, chairman of Enso Healthcare, said: “It is our privilege to partner with RDIF and Wockhardt to facilitate large scale manufacturing of Sputnik V and Sputnik Light vaccines. Vaccinations are the most visible solution to this pandemic. We are proud to be a part of this noble cause. Sputnik V is known to have high efficacy and has emerged as a trusted vaccine."
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