South Korea's GL Rapha will produce over 150 million doses of Russia's Sputnik V COVID vaccine per year, Russia's Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) disclosed on Friday.
The production deal is one of the country's biggest announced so far as Russian health authorities target to boost output overseas. While Moscow accelerates its local output volumes, it has also struck deals to roll out half a billion doses per year in foreign countries.
The statement came after the fund announced in August that Moscow had started procedures to supply South Korea with what is touted to be the "first" vaccine in the world to fight COVID in a few months.
RDIF pointed out that domestic production of the treatment will start in December in preparation for international distribution in January next year. The Sputnik V produced in South Korea will be dispersed in key countries around the globe.
Initial evaluation of the Russian vaccine's data in third stage clinical tests has shown 92% safety and efficacy against the disease based on 20 confirmed COVID cases divided between immunized patients and those who were given the placebo.
Around 40,000 participants are currently taking part in random, double-blind placebo-managed advanced stage trials in Russia. More than 20,000 subjects have been inoculated with the first dose of the Sputnik V vaccine and over 16,000 have been given the shot.
GL Rapha has been in discussions with RDIF director Kirill Dmitriev for many months after the sovereign fund approached it first, a representative for the South Korean company disclosed.
China's Tibet Rhodiola Pharmaceutical Holding said an agreement has been reached to produce, test, and sell Sputnik V vaccine in China, hours after the results were announced Friday.
"It is important now to boost international cooperation and partnerships to make sure that enough of the Sputnik V vaccine is produced to meet global demand," The Korea Times quoted RDIF chief executive officer Kirill Dmitriev as saying. "We're grateful to our partners at GL Rapha for their cooperation and joint efforts," he added.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization is also in talks with the Russian Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology that developed the Sputnik V vaccine over its potential application for emergency use listing, the U.N. agency on Thursday said.
Requests for over a billion doses of the Sputnik V vaccine have been received by the fund from more than 50 nations. The vaccine supplies for the world market will be made by RDIF's overseas partners in China, Brazil, India, South Korea, and other countries.
