An agreement was signed between the South Korean biotechnology business and the Russian Direct Investment Fund to manufacture more than 150 million doses of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine. 

The fund said on Friday that it has partnered with GL Rapha to manufacture and globally distribute 150 million doses per year.  In South Korea, India, Brazil, and China, among other countries, production will begin in December, with shipping beginning in January.

Russia reports that Sputnik V phase three trials have shown that it is 92 percent effective against COVID-19. This report is based on 20 reported cases of viruses divided between people who received the vaccine and those who received a placebo. In a press release, the Russian Direct Investment Fund calls Sputnik V "the first recorded vaccine in the world against the latest coronavirus infection."

According to the fund, 40,000 individuals are currently enrolled in clinical trials in Russia, and more than 20,000 have been vaccinated with the first dose of the vaccine. More than 16,000 have been vaccinated with both doses. The fund has received applications from more than 50 countries for more than 1.2 billion doses of Sputnik V, and current contracts would allow 500 million doses of the vaccine to be manufactured annually outside Russia.

In August, Russia was criticized for its premature declaration that it had the world's first coronavirus vaccine before the country had even completed the Sputnik V phase three trials. The 92 percent effectiveness of the vaccine is focused on an interim data analysis, while phase three trials are ongoing. 

By: Emilie Chi