Govt panel denies permission to Dr Reddy's to conduct Sputnik Light phase-3 trials

The Subject Expert Committee (SEC), appointed by the Centre has denied permission to the Hyderabad-based pharma major Dr Reddy's Laboratories to conduct phase-3 trials of Russia's one-shot COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik Light in India.

The committee discussed Dr Reddy's application seeking its approval to conduct final trials in India. "The SEC has denied permission to Dr Reddy's to conduct phase-3 trials on the Russian vaccine Sputnik Light in India," news agency ANI reported.

Sputnik Light is the second Russian vaccine to be introduced in India after Sputnik V. Like Sputnik V, Sputnik Light has also been jointly developed by the Russian Ministry of Health, the Gamaleya National Research Centre of Epidemiology and Microbiology and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).

The RDIF had cited real-world data collected by the Ministry of Health, Buenos Aires, and stated the Sputnik Light jab has 78.6 per cent- 83.7 per cent efficacy among elderly people.

"The publication of independent data in Buenos Aires province confirms high efficacy of the Russian vaccine for senior citizens who are in a high-risk group. An efficacy level of near 83.7 per cent is higher than that of many two-dose vaccines", RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev said.

Over 40,000 of the recipients, who were administered Sputnik Light as part of the inoculation programme reported an infection rate of a mere 0.446 per cent between 21st and 40th day of receiving the dose, as per the data collected from over 1,86,000 people in the 60-79 age bracket.

Edited by Mehak Agarwal; with agency inputs

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