The bottles of the Russian vaccine “Sputnik-V” COVID-19 are seen before inoculation at a clinic in Tver, Russia, 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 global production to meet growing demand .
The agreement for the production of Sputnik V – for export rather than domestic use – is the second in South Korea and comes after biotech company GL Rapha signed an agreement late last year to make more than 150 million doses of vaccine per year.
Shares of Huons Global rose 29.8% on the daily limit on Friday, reaching its highest level since September 2018.
Huons said on Friday that its consortium will start producing batches of samples in August and will respond flexibly to the supply request 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 unit, Huons said in a statement.
GL Rapha, which became the second largest foreign vaccine manufacturer after Russia announced its effectiveness in early November, is awaiting final approval for its product after sending samples to Russia for validation, a GL Rapha official said.
The official said he intends to increase production to reach the production target of 150 million by the end of this year.
India on Monday became the latest country to approve Sputnik V as it faces record-breaking infections, boosted by hundreds of positive tests at a large religious gathering. Read more
India’s ambassador to Moscow said on Friday that deliveries of Sputnik V to India should 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 try to step up inoculation programs that have been hampered by delivery delays. 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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