[\Courtesy of Huons Global]
SEOUL -- A consortium led by Huons Global, a pharmaceutical company based in South Korea, has signed a technology transfer contract to produce Sputnik V, a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Russia's state research center. Pilot production is set to begin in August, and the consortium will build facilities capable of producing more than 100 million doses a month.
Huons is the second South Korean company to seal a contract with Russia's sovereign wealth fund for the production of Sputnik V. A day earlier, a consortium involving ISU Abxis, a biotech company affiliated with South Korea's ISU group, announced a separate technology transfer contract with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) to produce Sputnik V at the end of April.
The Huons consortium includes Humedix, Prestige Biopharma and Boran Pharma. After pilot production in August, the consortium would maintain a flexible production schedule at the request of RDIF, Huons said in a statement.
"The specific volume cannot be disclosed as a confidentiality clause," an unnamed Huons official was quoted as saying. "Vaccines produced through the consortiums can be supplied to more than 60 countries worldwide that have approved the use of Sputnik V."
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
