Expert panel approves Russian vaccine Sputnik V for emergency use in India

April 12: After Covishield and Covaxin, Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V has been recommended for emergency use authorisation in India. The Subject Expert Committee (SEC) of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) on Monday took up the application of Dr Reddy’s Laboratories seeking emergency use authorisation for Sputnik V.  This will become the third Covid-19 vaccine to be used in the country if it is given a go-ahead by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has already given the emergency use authorisation for two COVID-19 vaccines – Covaxin of Bharat Biotech and Covishield of Oxford-AstraZeneca, being manufactured by Serum Institute of India in Pune. Sputnik V developed by the Gamaleya National Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology was registered by the Ministry of Health of Russia and became the world’s first registered vaccine against COVID-19 based on the established human adenoviral vector platform.