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 Indian drugmaker said.

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

“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.