Dr Reddy’s universal booster jab on the cards

HYDERABAD: India may soon develop a universal booster dose as Dr Reddy’s Laboratories has begun working on Sputnik Light vaccine, which is designed to work with all anti-Covid vaccines including Covishield and Covaxin. Dr Reddy’s Laboratories is expecting regulatory approval for this vaccine by June-end.  

“We are in the middle of clinical trials for Sputnik Light as a universal booster, which means that anybody who has taken any vaccine - be it Covishield or Covaxin - can take Sputnik Light as a booster dose if we get a favourable result in our clinical trials. For this, we expect to approach regulatory authority by June-end,” said Deepak Sapra, CEO (active pharmaceutical ingredients and services) of Dr Reddy’s.

To facilitate this, the company’s plans to come out with Sputnik M, a Covid-19 vaccine for children(12-17 years of age), has taken a back seat.  The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) granted approval to the single-shot Sputnik Light vaccine for restricted use in emergency situation in India in February.

Previously, in September 2020, Dr. Reddy’s partnered with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) to conduct clinical trials of Sputnik V and distribute the vaccine in India. In April 2021, the DCGI granted approval to the two-dose Sputnik V vaccine for restricted use in emergency situation in India. Nearly 1.2 million doses of Sputnik V vaccine have been sold in India so far.