Dr Reddys surges 5% as Sputnik V gets expert panel nod for emergency use

Shares of Dr Reddy’s Laboratories moved higher by 8 per cent to Rs 5,119.90 on the BSE in intra-day trade on Monday after Sputnik-V, the vaccine against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), got nod from the expert panel for emergency use in India. READ ABOUT IT HERE

This is the third vaccine approved by India after Covishield and Covaxin. The stock finally settled 5 per cent higher at Rs 4,989, as compared to 3.4 per cent fall in the S&P BSE Sensex.

In February, Dr Reddy’s had announced that the company has initiated the process with the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of the well-studied human adenoviral vector-based platform vaccine candidate, Sputnik V. In September 2020, it partnered with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) to conduct the clinical trials of the Sputnik V and for its distribution rights in India. The vaccine is currently undergoing the phase 3 clinical trial in India.

"Sputnik V has demonstrated an efficacy rate of 91.6 per cent in the interim analysis of the phase 3 clinical trial, which included data on 19,866 volunteers in Russia, who received both the first and second doses of the vaccine. Sputnik V maintained a consistent efficacy at 91.8 per cent even among the group of 2, 144 volunteers over 60 years old," the company had said in a press release.

Sputnik V, developed by the Gamaleya National Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, was registered by the Ministry of Health of Russia on August 11, 2020 and became the World's first registered vaccine against COVID-19 based on the human adenoviral vector platform.

"Over 250 clinical studies over two decades have proven the safety, efficacy, and lack of negative long-term effects of adenoviral vaccines. Sputnik V is one of only three vaccines in the world with an efficacy of 91.6 per cent and has most authorizations granted with 26 countries globally. The vaccine has already been administered to more than 2 million people worldwide," it said.