S. Korean bio firm GL Rapha to produce Russian COVID-19 vaccine

South Korean bio company GL Rapha will produce over 150 million annual doses of Russia's COVID-19 vaccine for global distribution, Russia's sovereign wealth fund said Friday.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said GL Rapha will begin manufacturing Sputnik V in South Korea next month, which it described "the world's first registered vaccine" based on "human adenoviral vector-based platform."

"The parties intend to commence production in December 2020 and a rollout of the Sputnik V vaccine in January 2021," the RDIF said in a press release posted on a website.

"RDIF and GL Rapha will supply over 150 million doses per year produced in South Korea for global distribution."

The first interim analysis of the Sputnik V vaccine of phase three clinical trials in Russia has demonstrated 92 percent efficacy against the new coronavirus based on 20 confirmed cases, the Moscow-based fund said.

RDIF said it has received over 1.2 billion doses of the Sputnik V vaccine orders from over 50 countries, including South Korea, India, Brazil, China, adding 500 million doses can be produced outside Russia under contracts with international partners.

The Sputnik V vaccine was developed at the National Research Centre for Epidemiology and Microbiology in Moscow, and its clinical trials have been announced in the United Arab Emirates, India, Venezuela and Belarus, it said. (Yonhap)