Pakistan’s pharmaceutical firm, AGP Limited, which is also the exclusive distributor of Sputnik-V vaccine for coronavirus has clarified reports circulating on social and electronic media, saying that it has not entered into a supply agreement with any hospital or Diagnostic Centre.

The company in a statement on Monday termed the information being circulated on social and electronic media regarding the availability of Sputnik-V vaccine for Covid-19 through one of the prominent diagnostic centres in Pakistan as ‘false, incorrect and misleading .’

“It is hereby clarified that AGP Limited, so far has not entered into a supply agreement with any hospital or Diagnostic Centre (including the Diagnostic Centre in question) for the supply of Sputnik-V vaccine either directly or indirectly in Pakistan,” said the company.

The pharma added that being the exclusive distributor of Sputnik-V vaccine in Pakistan, they will only enter into a supply agreement with a hospital or Diagnostic Centre after completion of all necessary legal formalities and was duly confirms and fully complies with the directions issued by the relevant regulatory authorities.

The statement comes after in a twitter message on Sunday, Chughtai Lab Director Dr Omar Chughtai said: "We are expecting our first shipment of the #COVID vaccine insha Allah within the next 1-2 weeks."

He added, "The Sputnik V vaccine has been shown to be 91.6 % effective. Already authorized for use in Pakistan." He stated that the lab is working on appointment setting system and more details regarding the vaccine will be shared soon.

Days ago, Russia’s Sputnik-V vaccine became the third COVID-19 vaccine to be approved by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) for emergency use after China’s Sinopharm and the one developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University.

The vaccine, developed by M/s Gamaleya National Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology, with support from the Russian Direct Investment Fund, a sovereign fund of the Russian Federation, has been approved by a number of countries, including Russia, Argentina, Hungary and UAE and registration in the European Union has also been filed.