Shilpa Medicare is very much in the limelight. Among the top five gainers on the BSE, the stock, which had closed on Friday at Rs.455.35, opened today at Rs.462 and went on to hit an intraday high at Rs.516.95. Its 20% UC for today is at Rs.546.40 and 52-week high is at Rs.692.45.

The company announced just an hour ago that, via its wholly owned subsidiary Shilpa Biologicals, it has entered into a 3-year definitive agreement with Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Limited (DRL) for production-supply of the Sputnik V vaccine from its integrated biologics R&D cum manufacturing center at Dharwad, Karnataka.

The targeted production of the dual vector Sputnik V for the first 12 months is 50 million doses, from the date of start of commercial production.

DRL has partnered with HV/RDIF for clinical development of the vaccine and has distribution rights in geographies including India. DRL will facilitate the transfer of the sputnik technology to the company.

Under the agreement, Shilpa will be responsible for manufacture of the vaccine, while DRL is responsible for distribution/marketing of the vaccine in its marketing territories.

The companies are also exploring the option to manufacture Sputnik Light, a single dose version of the vaccine in the near future.