Russian COVID-19 Vaccine 'Covivac' Development Team Led by Chumakov to Revisit Korea Next Month

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] The core research team of the Chumakov Institute, which developed the next-generation COVID-19 vaccine ‘CoviVac,’ is set to revisit Korea next month after about two months.

According to HumanN and related industries on the 26th, key researchers including ‘Aidar Ishmukhametov,’ director of the Chumakov Institute in Russia, are preparing their schedule for visiting Korea next month. Officials from the Chumakov Institute, ahead of their visit, have currently applied for quarantine exemption approval through the Business Immigration Support Center.

CoviVac is a COVID-19 vaccine developed by the Russian Chumakov Institute. It received approval for use from the Russian Ministry of Health last February. Developed as an inactivated vaccine combining traditional vaccine manufacturing methods with modern technology, CoviVac is free from concerns about thrombosis symptoms, which are known side effects of existing vaccines, and is expected to be effective against recently emerged COVID-19 variants. The Chumakov Institute has currently applied to the World Health Organization (WHO) for the official prequalification (PQ) of the CoviVac COVID-19 vaccine.

MPC, which oversees the CoviVac project in Korea, stated regarding the purpose of the Chumakov Institute officials’ visit, "Various business discussions are planned, but there are no details to disclose about the specific schedule."

MPC, which signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) last February for the domestic contract manufacturing and exclusive distribution rights in ASEAN countries for CoviVac, is a special purpose company (SPC) established in Korea for the CoviVac project.

Meanwhile, HumanN, known as a related stock to CoviVac, has recently experienced repeated sharp declines. HumanN is participating in the CoviVac vaccine project, including investing 7 billion KRW in MPC recently. A HumanN official explained, “While the clinical progress of CoviVac is proceeding smoothly, we are perplexed by the sudden stock price drop without any reason,” adding, “There are no unusual matters related to the company concerning the stock price decline.”