TIL Desk/National/New Delhi/ The Russian government has reached out to India seeking a collaboration for manufacturing its COVID-19 vaccine ‘Sputnik V’ and conducting its phase 3 clinical trial in New Delhi, sources said. According to government sources, the matter was discussed by the national expert group on vaccine administration for COVID-19 in its last meeting held on August 22.
Sputnik V has been developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology along with Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF). The vaccine has not been tested in phase 3 or larger clinical trials. There has been scepticism in some quarters about limited data related to the efficacy of the vaccine.
“The Russian government has reached out to the Indian government seeking a collaboration for manufacturing their COVID-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, and conducting its phase 3 trial here,” a source in the government said. “The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) along with the Department of Health Research has been asked to lead and look into the matter.
