With 5 per cent GST, a single dose of Sputnik will cost ₹995. As it is a two-dose vaccine, the total cost will be ₹1,990, which places it between Covishied and Covaxin that  cost ₹600 and ₹1,200 per dose, respectively.

“We plan to vaccinate 125 million in the next 8-12 months. About 15-20 per cent of initial supplies of a total of 250 million doses will be imported,’’ Deepak Sapra, Chief Executive Officer, APIs & Services, Dr Reddy’s, said at a press conference to announce  annual results on Friday. Sapra took the first dose of the vaccine.

21-day gap

The second dose is to be taken 21 days after the first. “The efficacy of the vaccine is 91.6 per cent,’’ he added. Dr Reddy’s, which has partnered with Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), expects the full commercial  roll-out of the vaccine from next month.

“Till then, we will pilot vaccination in few cities,” Sapra said, adding that  cold chain facilities have been set up in 35 cities, including metros. Dr Reddy’s received  1.5 lakh doses from Russia on May 1 and expects to get  the second shipment this week.

RDIF has already entered into agreements  with six contract manufactures including Hetero, Gland Pharma, Stelis Pharma, Virchow and Panacea Biotech. “The technology transfer with CMOs is at different levels and we expect production  to be ramped up by July,’’ he said.

 

The challenge, however, will be the cold chain for storing the vaccine at -18 degrees Celcius, which is difficult especially in public hospitals. Efforts are on to store at 2-8 degrees Celsius. “The stability studies to store the vaccine at 2-8 degrees are on, and data will be submitted to the Drug Controller General of India for approval,” Sapra said.

Supply to govt

“We will be an integral part of the government’s vaccination programme,’’ Sapra said, adding that discussions were on with a few States for supply of Sputnik. The price of the imported Sputnik will be the same for government and private players. “The price has been been fixed after factoring in the logistics cost,’’ he said. Dr Reddy’s may supply Sputnik to some emerging markets as it has a collaboration with RDIF, he said.

SputnikLight

Single-dose vaccine SputnikLight, which was approved for use in Russia recently, is also likely to be available  in India. “We will submit trial data to DCGI  and act as per their advice,’’ he said, adding that a single-dose vaccine will be advantageous  for India in the current conditions. “It has an efficacy of 79.4 per cent,” Sapra added.

J&J vaccine

Hyderabad-based Biological E Ltd also has a pact with Johnson and Johnson on the single-dose vaccine being developed by the latter.

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