South Korea Begins Sputnik V Vaccine Production

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), GL Rapha, and ISU ABXIS announced on April 15, 2021, an agreement on technological transfer and production of the Sputnik V vaccine in Korea at the end of April 2021.

Initial vaccine production has been launched at ISU ABXIS's facility in Yongin city, located near Seoul, South Korea.

Suhyun Jeong, Head of Business Development at ISU ABXIS, commented in an RDIF press release, “This is the first agreement between a consortium member and RDIF for the implementation of a technology transfer. We continue to interact with partners and will do our best to master Sputnik V vaccine production technologies and deliver it as soon as possible."

GL Rapha, one of South Korea's leading biotechnology companies, previously formed a consortium to produce the Sputnik V vaccine in Korea in February 2021.

Recently, Serbia confirmed it became the first state in Southern Europe to produce the Sputnik V vaccine on April 14th.

Separately, media reported the Gamaleya Center in Russia announced on April 14, 2021, 'A comprehensive analysis of adverse events during clinical trials and over the course of mass vaccinations with the Sputnik V vaccine showed that there were no cases of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis.'

'All vaccines based on adenoviral vector platform are different and not directly comparable.'

'Sputnik V is a two-component vaccine in which adenovirus serotypes 5 and 26 are used. A fragment of tissue-type plasminogen activator is not used, and the antigen insert is an unmodified full-length S-protein. Sputnik V vaccine is produced with the HEK293 cell line, which has long been safely used to produce biotechnological products.'