Bottles of the Russian vaccine COVID-19 “Sputnik-V” are observed before inoculation at a clinic in Tver, Russia, on October 12, 2020. REUTERS / Tatyana Makeyeva
Huons Global Co. Ltd. (084110.KQ) of South Korea will lead a consortium to produce 100 million doses of Russian Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine per month as Moscow seeks to increase production worldwide to meet growing demand .
The agreement to produce Sputnik V – for export and not for domestic use – is South Korea’s second and comes after biotech firm GL Rapha signed an agreement late last year to make more than 150 million doses of vaccine a year.
Huons Global shares jumped 29.8% to the daily limit on Friday and reached their highest level since September 2018.
Huons said on Friday that his consortium will begin producing batches of samples in August and will respond flexibly to supply demand from the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Russia’s sovereign wealth fund.
The consortium includes three other local companies: Prestige BioPharma (950210.KS), Humedix (200670.KQ) and Boran Pharma, which will build a new production plant, Huons said in a statement.
GL Rapha, which became the second foreign producer of the vaccine after Russia announced its effectiveness in early November, awaits final approval of its product after sending samples to Russia for validation, say a GL Rapha official.
The official said he plans to increase production to reach the 150 million production targets by the end of this year.
India on Monday became the last country to pass Sputnik V as it faces record-high infections, spurred on by hundreds of positive tests at a major religious gathering. Read more
India’s ambassador to Moscow on Friday said deliveries of Sputnik V to India were expected to begin before the end of April. Read more
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is conducting an ongoing review of the Russian vaccine, as many European countries are trying to increase inoculation programs that have been hampered by delays in delivery. Read more
South Korea has approved three vaccines, from AstraZeneca (AZN.L), Pfizer (PFE.N) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N), but has not begun reviewing Sputnik V for approval.
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