Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, which holds the distribution rights of Sputnik V vaccines in India, is facing a challenge due to low offtake of the Russian jab despite easing of supply bottlenecks.
“In terms of the market situation, the private market overall has seen a sharp dip and Sputnik V has been solely private. The market has seen scale-up in overall vaccine production in India and free distribution through the government,” Dr Reddy’s said in a statement.
The government said a surge in cases in Russia had hit the supplies of the vaccine as it had to prioritise its domestic demand.
“There has been successful tech transfer as far as Sputnik is concerned. But a surge in cases in Russia has hit the supplies as the country had to prioritise its domestic demand. There is research also on whether only one dose of Sputnik is enough. This research and domestic production is going on,” said Niti Ayog member VK Paul at a media briefing here on Thursday.
Dr Reddy’s on its part said the supply momentum is ongoing. “In early September, we had updated that with the start of supply of the second dose component manufactured by a partner in India, we had initiated supply of the first dose component to partner hospitals all over India followed by equivalent quantities of the second dose component. The supply momentum, therefore, is ongoing,” the company said.
