New Covid-19 Infections At Lowest In Almost A Month

FILE PHOTO: People stroll along the promenade at Marine Drive, amidst the coronavirus disease outbreak in Mumbai on September 22, 2020

India reported 75,083 new cases of the novel coronavirus in the last 24 hours, according to federal health data released on Tuesday, the lowest daily tally in almost a month.

There were 1,053 deaths over the same period.

There have been 5.6 million cases in total in the country, second only behind the United States.

Meanwhile, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd could begin late-stage Indian clinical trials of Russia’s potential coronavirus vaccine in the next few weeks, an executive at the drugmaker said on Tuesday.

Indian trials of the Sputnik-V vaccine candidate, being developed by Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, will enroll 1,000-2,000 participants and be conducted at multiple government and private hospitals across the country, said Deepak Sapra, CEO for API and pharmaceutical services at Dr. Reddy’s.

“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,” Sapra said.

The trials are part of a deal between the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and Dr Reddy’s, in which the Indian firm will conduct Phase III studies in India, pursue local regulatory approvals and, subject to approval, distribute the finished vaccine product in India. RDIF will supply 100 million doses to Dr Reddy’s.