India's Panacea Biotec jumps 9% on manufacturing licence for Sputnik V vaccine

Panacea Biotec

05/07/2021 06:17

BENGALURU, July 5 (Reuters) - Shares of India's Panacea
Biotec Ltd  PNCA.NS  climbed as much as 9% in early trade on
Monday, a day after the biotech company said it had received a
manufacturing licence for the Sputnik V vaccine.
    India has shifted its focus to mass immunisations as experts
warn of a looming third wave of the coronavirus pandemic as the
country slowly reopens and a new variant, locally called the
Delta Plus, emerges.
    By July 2, 6% of all eligible adults in India had been
inoculated with the two mandatory doses, data from the
government's Co-Win portal showed. 
    Official coronavirus death toll topped 400,000 last week,
though experts say the actual number could have reached one
million or even higher.
    India is the world's second-worst coronavirus-hit country
after the United States.
    Panacea Biotec said on Sunday the Indian drugs regulator
granted the licence following the company's collaboration with
the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Russia's sovereign
wealth fund which markets the shot internationally.
    The licence is for batches of Sputnik V produced at its
facilities at Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, the company said in a
statement. These batches were earlier shipped to the Gamaleya
Center in Russia for quality checks. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nFWN2OF05U
    Sputnik V received emergency use authorisation in India in
April this year. Sputnik V is a two-dose shot, which has been
found to be 91.6% effective in preventing people from developing
COVID-19.    
    So far, India has approved four vaccines - AstraZeneca and
partner Serum Institute of India's Covishield, Bharat Biotech's
Covaxin, Moderna's shot and the Sputnik V.
    Panacea Biotec began production of the vaccine in May-end,
and the company plans to produce 100 million doses annually,
RDIF said in April.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nR4N2N901F

 (Reporting by Vishwadha Chander in Bengaluru; Editing by
Subhranshu Sahu)
 ((Vishwadha.Chander@thomsonreuters.com; Mobile: +91 7506036802;
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/vishwadha;))