India's
output, exports of Russia's Sputnik vaccine at risk due to Ukraine
crisis
Send a link to a friend
[March 02, 2022]
By Krishna N. Das
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's production
and exports of Russia's Sputnik COVID-19 vaccines are expected to slow
further following U.S. sanctions on Russia's sovereign wealth fund that
promotes the shot globally, three Indian pharmaceutical industry sources
told Reuters.
|
The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) had billed India as one of
Sputnik's biggest production hubs and markets, though local sales
have stagnated at 1.2 million doses out of 1.8 billion doses of
various vaccines administered in the country.
RDIF, which has said the U.S. sanction this week could complicate
its promotion of Sputnik shots, has deals with several Indian
companies to make nearly 1 billion doses of it, though output has
not risen beyond a few million doses.
RDIF's main Indian distributor for Sputnik is Dr. Reddy's
Laboratories and its manufacturing partners include Hetero and the
Serum Institute of India (SII).
Another Indian company, which was to make more than 100 million
Sputnik doses but had held off production due to a lack of demand in
India, has now decided to not manufacture it at all, said a person
with direct knowledge's of the matter. The person declined to be
named or identify the company.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Mar/02/images/ads/current/graue_sda_042021.png)
Another source at an Indian company said Sputnik sales were likely
to be slow in the near future.
RDIF and Hetero did not respond to requests for comment. The SII
declined to comment.
[to top of second column] |
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Mar/02/images/ads/current/2021_lda_Businessdirectory.png) Dr. Reddy's, one of India's biggest drugmakers
which has been selling its products in and
around Russia for more than three decades, said
it did not see any impact as Indian companies no
longer import material from Russia to make
Sputnik shots in India.
"We have manufacturing capabilities in India and drug substance is
not imported. Hence there is no impact," a spokesperson said in an
email.
"Overall, we are monitoring evolving developments closely and
preparing accordingly."
Some 4 million Sputnik doses, bottled in India using imported
material from Russia last year, were exported around October. Last
month, India sent 135,875 locally made doses of the single-dose
Sputnik Light vaccine to Uzbekistan, according to India's foreign
ministry https://www.mea.gov.in/vaccine-supply.htm.
(Reporting by Krishna N. Das; Editing by Kim Coghill)
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |