The Hyderabad-based Dr Reddy's Laboratories pharmaceutical company on Thursday announced its partnership with Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) under the Indian government's Biotechnology Department to conduct trials of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 in India.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th October, 2020) The Hyderabad-based Dr Reddy's Laboratories pharmaceutical company on Thursday announced its partnership with Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) under the Indian government's Biotechnology Department to conduct trials of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 in India.
Earlier in October, the Russian Direct Investment Fund and Dr. Reddy's received a greenlight from the Drug Control General of India to conduct phase 2 and 3 of clinical trials for Sputnik V in India. On Wednesday, Dr. Reddy's CEO Erez Israeli told reporters that the company planned to complete phase 2, involving 100 volunteers, by December and phase 3, involving 1,400 volunteers, by May 2021.
"Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. ... announced its partnership with Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India, for advisory support on clinical trials of Sputnik V vaccine in India," the pharmaceutical company said in a press release.
Under the partnership, Dr. Reddy's will be able to use some of BIRAC's clinical trial centers for the vaccine, which are funded under the National Biopharma Mission, and have access to Good Clinical Laboratory Practice labs to conduct immunogenicity assay testing of the vaccine.
Aside from the Russian vaccine, clinical trials of three other COVID-19 vaccines are already underway in India. This includes the ChAdOx1 vaccine by the University of Oxford, the Covaxin vaccine by the Indian Bharat Biotech company and another Indian vaccine � ZycovD by the Zydus Cadila company.
