Mission to innoculate every human on this planet cannot be complete without India, the world’s second-most populous nation. But this is not the only reason why India is important. More than 100 million doses of Sputnik V vaccine will be made in India. Russia’s direct investment fund made the announcement today.
Developers of the Russian vaccine have tied up with an Indian drugmaker hetero to make the jab
The Sputnik V is just one of the many vaccines that will be produced in India. The vaccine is undergoing trials in India already. It was tested on 100 people in the first phase. The vaccine is now in its final phase of the trial in which it will be tested on thousands of people.
Data from this trial will be shared with the Indian regulators. If the vaccine works and is safe India will approve Sputnik V.
That would also mean, green lighting the large scale manufacturing in India.
It’s not just the Russians who are betting on India’s capabilities.
The makers of the Oxford vaccine have a similar arrangement with the Serum Institute of India, the largest vaccine maker in the world.
If the jab gets the go-ahead. SII Wants to churn out 10 million doses every month.
It has an agreement to manufacture one billion doses of the Oxford vaccine.
Reportedly SII plans to reserve half of the stock for India.
The other half will be supplied to low-income nations through GAVI, a global vaccine alliance.
On Saturday, November 28 India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit three cities for a vaccine tour. He will visit the Zydus Biotech Park in Ahmedabad.
The company is making its own vaccine and expects to introduce it in March next year.
Then, prime minister Modi will be in Hyderabad to visit the facilities of Bharat Biotech, which is making Covaxin.
The prime minister’s last stop will be the Pune-based Serum Institute of India.
India makes 60 percent of the world’s vaccines. It is home to six major manufacturers. 30 vaccine candidates are being developed in India alone. Five are in clinical trials. India has around 27 thousand cold chain stores. From there vaccines can be supplied to eight million locations.
Of course, India needs more and better facilities to develop, store and distribute the vaccines. But these numbers should tell you why India has a headstart
When it comes to the vaccines, it’s the same headstart that the world’s leading vaccine makers are hoping to leverage to end this pandemic.
