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Dr Reddy's administers first dose of Sputnik V vaccine in India, priced at Rs 995 per dose

HYDERABAD: As part of a limited pilot, Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd (Dr Reddy's) the Indian marketing partner of Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) for its COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V today did a soft-launches, with Deepak Sapra, a senior executive of the pharma major taking the first shot in Hyderabad. as part of a limited pilot.

The company has priced the Russian vaccine in India at Rs 948 and with five per cent GST per dose, the retail price of the vaccine Rs 995.40 per dose. 

The first consignment of imported doses of the Sputnik V vaccine from the RDIF landed in India on May 1, and received regulatory clearance from the Central Drugs Laboratory, on May 13, 2021.

According to Sapra, since the vaccine needs to be stored at -18 degrees Celsius, the vaccines will be available in 35 cities across the country at first. He said that separately, tests are underway for keeping the vaccines between 2 to 8 degrees Celsius and if the results are favourable, a wider rollout is expected much faster.

"Once the cold chain logistics are worked out in other locations, the shots will be available in other places as well," he added.

M V Ramana, CEO of Branded Markets (India and Emerging Markets) of Dr Reddy's, said in a media briefing that the current prices are based on the imported price of the vaccine from RDIF. "We are in discussions with RDIF and we have a commitment of 36 million doses that we are expecting to get from RDIF over a couple of months, however, we don't have a very clear month-wise plan to share." 

He added that the company was in discussions with various State governments, though the order and quantities have not been fixed.

When asked about the relatively higher price, justifying the same, Ramana said it was done based on its landing price and other expenses involved in bringing it to people. "Price may come down once local manufacturing starts," he said. RDIF has tie-ups with six Indian drug firms to manufacture the vaccine.

"We are working closely with six manufacturing partners in India to fulfil regulatory requirements to ensure smooth and timely supply. And this is expected to give us the vaccine for commercial usage from July timeframe, after that it will steadily ramp up over the next few months," he said.

In terms of efficacy, Sputnik V has an efficacy of 91.6 per cent and according to Sapra more than 2 crore people in 60 countries have received the jab. 

Dr Reddy's is also working closely with RDIF for, 'Sputnik Light' the single-dose version of Sputnik V, which has already been approved by Russian regulators and has been found to have an efficacy of 79.4 per cent. The vaccine can help provide meaningful immunogenicity to a large population in a dire situation like the one India is in right now. Taking the second dose on top of this will improve its efficacy to 91.6 per cent.

Once the vaccine is rolled out across the country, it will be listed as a third option on the CoWIN website and Aarogya Setu app and will be available for booking in select centres.

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