India's drug regulator, the Drugs Controller General of India or DCGI, approved the Russian Covid vaccine, Sputnik V after it got a green signal by a special committee. 850 million doses of the third vaccine to be approved by India are going to be produced annually. Limited doses of the vaccine are going to be available by the end of April.
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The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has reached agreements with five pharmaceutical firms in the country - Gland Pharma, Hetero Biopharma, Panacea Biotec, Stelis Biopharma, Virchow Biotech to produce more than 850 million doses per year.
Manufactured in India by Dr Reddy's, Sputnik V has the highest effectiveness of 91.6 per cent after the Moderna and Pfizer shots. The approval for the third vaccine comes amid a second wave in the country that has seen record daily cases in the last few weeks.
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