Category: Medical News

Morepen Laboratories has begun the production of the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in an exclusive facility in the state of Himachal Pradesh, announced the Russian Direct Investment Fund on Tuesday

The first test batch made by the Indian manufacturer will be shipped to the Gamaleya Center for quality control, RDIF said in a statement.

RDIF and Morepen Laboratories signed a cooperation agreement in June 2021 and are actively implementing the technology transfer.

“As the pandemic is yet far from over and new, more dangerous variants of coronavirus are being detected in various regions of the world, RDIF is increasing capacities for production of Sputnik V in India, one of the key hubs. Agreement with Morepen Laboratories provides for a larger amount of Sputnik V to be available both for India and our partners globally to speed up the vaccination with one of the best vaccines in the world,” said Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund.

The Sputnik V vaccine is based on a proven and well-studied platform of human adenoviral vectors, which cause the common cold and have been around for thousands of years.

“We are delighted to partner with RDIF for the prestigious project of Sputnik V production in India. This would be our privilege to work jointly on expanding the production base in India. We take this partnership as the starting point for a long term relationship with RDIF and its partner companies as we look forward to many more areas of common interest. Morepen’s commitment towards this project is a step forward towards entry into biosimilars and other biological,” said Sushil Suri, Chairman & Managing Director of Morepen Laboratories.

Sputnik V was granted an emergency use authorization in India on April 12, 2021. India is the leading production hub for Sputnik V. RDIF had reached agreements earlier with other leading pharmaceutical companies in India – Gland Pharma, Hetero Biopharma, Panacea Biotec, Stelis Biopharma and Virchow Biotech. In total, agreements with partners in India provide for production of more than 850 million doses of Sputnik V per year.

Dr. Gakidou urges that governments need to alter policies so that they emphasize either “lowering people’s levels of alcohol consumption or abstaining entirely.”

In countries such as the U.S., public health information on alcohol and health tends to focus either on the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption or on keeping drinking to moderate levels.

There is often little mention of the fact that no consumption at all is the safest. For instance, the fact sheet on alcohol and health from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) starts with “[d]rinking too much can harm your health.”

It then cites statistics about the effects of excessive drinking. During 2006–2010, excessive alcohol consumption in the U.S. resulted in around 88,000 deaths per year, cutting the lifespan of those who died by an average of 30 years. Among adults aged 20–64 years, it led to 1 in 10 deaths.

The 2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans advice on alcohol use opens with “[i]f alcohol is consumed, it should be in moderation” and then goes on to define moderate drinking as no more than two drinks per day for men and no more than one for women.

That being said, there is mention that the guidelines do “not recommend that individuals who do not drink alcohol start drinking for any reason.”

“We now understand,” says Richard C. Horton, who is editor-in-chief of The Lancet, “that alcohol is one of the major causes of death in the world today.”

“We need to act urgently to prevent these millions of deaths,” he adds.

“The myth that one or two drinks a day are good for you is just that — a myth. This study shatters that myth.”