Second S.Korean deal to produce Russia's Sputnik V (updated)

Humedix Co

16/04/2021 11:00

(Adds details on other production deal, background)
    By Sangmi Cha
    SEOUL, April 16 (Reuters) - South Korea's Huons Global Co
Ltd  084110.KQ  will lead a consortium to produce 100 million
doses of Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine per month, as
Moscow seeks to increase production globally to meet rising
demand.
    The deal to produce Sputnik V - for export rather than
domestic use - is the second in South Korea and comes after
biotech firm GL Rapha signed a deal late last year to make more
than 150 million doses of the vaccine per year.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2HZ0A4
    Shares in Huons Global jumped 29.8% to their daily limit on
Friday, hitting their highest level since September 2018.
    Huons said on Friday its consortium will begin producing
sample batches in August and would 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 facility, Huons said
in a statement.
    GL Rapha, which became the second foreign producer of the
vaccine after Russia announced its efficacy in early November,
is waiting for final approval of its product after sending
samples to Russia for validation, a GL Rapha official said.
    The official said it plans to scale up production to meet
the 150 million production target by the end of this year.
    India on Monday became the latest country to approve Sputnik
V as it grapples with record infections, spurred by hundreds of
positive tests at a major religious gathering.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2M908I
    India's ambassador to Moscow on Friday said deliveries of
Sputnik V to India were expected to begin before the end of
April.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nR4N2FR03Z
    The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is conducting a rolling
review of the Russian vaccine as many European countries seek to
ramp up inoculation programmes that have been hampered by
delivery delays.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2M85P3
    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.

 (Reporting by Sangmi Cha; Additional reporting by Joyce Lee;
Editing by Lincoln Feast and David Holmes)
 ((Sangmi.Cha@thomsonreuters.com; +82 2 3704 5646; Reuters
Messaging: sangmi.cha.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))