According to a report by The Indian Express, after witnessing a strong immune response in Phases 1 & 2 of the clinical trials of the vaccine on 76 people, India sought the information from the Russia based Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology.
Citing a source aware of the development, the report stated that the Indian side is now deeply engaged with Russia based candidate on the vaccine front.
The collaboration is being coordinated by Renu Swarup (Biotechnology Department Secretary in India) and D B Venkatesh Varma (Indian Ambassador in Russia).
According to the official Sputnik V website, the Russian vaccine Candidate is planning to conduct Phase 3 clinical trials in many countries, including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Brazil, and the Philippines. If reports are to be believed, the Indian experts might also have a separate Phase 3 clinical trial after necessary approvals from regulators.
It is to be noted that Russia itself had expressed its readiness to share detailed data with India. Russian Ambassador to India Nikolay Kudashev had recently reached out to officials in Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) looking for a partnership with India for producing COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V.
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Meanwhile, six candidates from around the world are reportedly in phase three of human trials at present. However, Russia has claimed that one of their candidates has completed all three phases of human clinical trials successfully. Russian officials have claimed that the vaccine provided safe, stable immunity and denounced Western attempts to undermine Moscow's research.
Russian officials have said that large-scale production of the vaccine will start in September, and mass vaccination may begin as early as October.