Dr Reddy’s Laboratories may begin clinical trials of Russia’s potential coronavirus vaccine in India in the next few weeks, said an executive at the Indian drugmaker on Tuesday.

The trials of the Sputnik-V vaccine developed by Russia’s sovereign wealth fund in India, will enrol 1,000-2,000 candidates and be conducted at multiple hospitals including both the government and private across the country said Senior VP/Head: Psai, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Deepak Sapra.

“We want to get to the first step – which is the commencement of the clinical trials by getting the necessary approvals from the Indian regulators – within the next few weeks,” said Sapra.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has reached an agreement with Indian manufactures for producing 300 million doses of vaccine in India. Russia was the first country for granting regulatory approval for a novel coronavirus vaccine.

Sapra said that doses of Sputnik-V supplied in India will be likely a combination of Indian and Russian made doses and added that RDIF and Dr Reddy’s would soon identify the potential manufacturers in India.