[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] The Russian sovereign wealth fund (RDIF) announced on the 15th that it has signed a technology transfer agreement for the Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V with domestic bio companies GL Rapha and Isu Abxis.
In a press release on the same day, RDIF stated, "This agreement is the first tripartite contract for technology transfer with companies belonging to the Korean consortium," adding, "Production of vaccine prototypes is scheduled to begin at the Isu Abxis factory in Yongin from the end of April."
Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of RDIF, said, "South Korea is one of the key partners for the production of Sputnik V," and added, "We expect to increase production capacity in South Korea through the agreement with Isu Abxis." He introduced, "Sputnik V has been approved in 60 countries worldwide, with a total population of 3 billion, and we continue to expand production capacity to meet the increasing demand for the Russian vaccine."
The Sputnik V vaccine was developed last August by the Gamaleya National Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology under the Russian Ministry of Health and was the first vaccine in the world to receive approval from its own government. Unlike the usual vaccine development process, it was approved immediately after phases 1 and 2, before the phase 3 clinical trial, which placed it at the center of controversy regarding its efficacy and safety.
However, in early February, the prestigious international medical journal The Lancet published phase 3 results showing that the vaccine's preventive efficacy is over 91%, which has led to somewhat more positive evaluations of the vaccine.
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