On May 17, Dr. Reddy’s said that 8-9 states have contacted the company about purchasing the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are among the states that have reached out to them, according to the company.
The imported doses of Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine were priced at Rs 948 plus 5% GST, or Rs 995.40 per dose, according to Dr Reddy’s. It stated that the price for both government and private channels will remain the same.
The company plans to partner with hospitals in the metro area that can store vaccines at 18 degrees Celsius.
Last week, Dr Reddy’s received 1.5 lakh Sputnik first dose doses, and the company said it received a second consignment of 60,000 second dose doses over the weekend.
“We have a supply commitment of 36 million doses from RDIF in the next two months,” said M V Ramana, CEO of Branded Formulations at Dr Reddy’s.
Dr. Reddy’s is attempting to obtain further doses from RDIF, according to Raman. RDIF has agreed to supply 250 million Sputnik V first and second doses to the company. Russia will have between 15-20% of the initial supplies.
The vaccine prices will come down once local manufacturers start supplying, which is expected in the next two to three months, according to Dr. Reddy’s.
“They have to absorb the technology from RDIF, have to get approvals from the regulators and then scale up manufacturing,” said Sauri Gudlavalleti- Head of Research and Development. “We are working with the regulator to bring appropriate guidance, on whether the other Indian suppliers with whom RDIF signed supply agreement will have to do clinical trials or not,: Gudlavalleti added.
DCGI has given Hetero, which has a partnership with RDIF, permission to conduct Phase-3 trials of the Sputnik V vaccine.
Gudlavalleti stated that the company plans to approach the Indian drug regulator in the coming weeks to request emergency use authorization for the Sputnik Light single-dose vaccine.
Tie-up with Apollo Hospitals
Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories and Apollo Hospitals declared a collaboration on Monday to conduct a trial launch of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine in India.
Dr. Reddy’s will rely on the Apollo Hospitals network around the country for vaccine storage, transportation, administration, and monitoring.
The Sputnik V vaccine would cost between Rs 1,200 and Rs 1,250 per dose, according to Apollo Hospitals.
According to Dr. Reddy’s, the initial rollout will begin on May 17 in Hyderabad and will be expanded to Visakhapatnam and other metro cities on May 18.
In addition to Apollo, Dr. Reddy’s has a partnership with IHH Healthcare’s Contitental Hospitals.
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