Huons to Verify Preventive Effect of 'Sputnik V' Against Delta Variant

Last July, an employee at Korea Corus, the 'Sputnik V' vaccine production factory located in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, is holding up a vaccine. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] Huons is set to verify the preventive efficacy of the Russian-made COVID-19 vaccine 'Sputnik V' against the Delta variant.

Huons, a subsidiary of Huons Global, announced on the 9th that it will begin efficacy testing of Sputnik V against the COVID-19 Delta variant through joint research with Korea University's Biosafety Center. This test will be conducted through hamster infection experiments.

Last month, Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko stated at a press conference that Sputnik V showed 83% preventive efficacy against the Delta variant. He also claimed that the vaccine demonstrated over 95% effectiveness in preventing severe cases. The joint research team plans to reconfirm whether such preventive effects against the variant are similarly observed in actual animal experiments.

Huons received commercial Sputnik V vaccine products for this test from the Russian sovereign wealth fund (RDIF). The efficacy verification is expected to be completed around December, and if positive results are obtained, an in-depth study on cellular immunity will follow.

Um Ki-an, CEO of Huons, said, "We decided to conduct this test because it was necessary for Huons, which holds the domestic approval and distribution rights for Sputnik V, to directly verify its efficacy. Since positive results regarding preventive effects are continuously confirmed worldwide not only for variants but also in general, we expect good results in the animal tests targeting the Delta variant conducted domestically."

Huons holds the domestic approval and distribution rights for Sputnik V, and its parent company Huons Global and affiliate Humedix are participating in the global production CMO of Sputnik V.