SK Bioscience will also produce COVID-19 vaccines next year

Agreed with CEPI

CEPI signed an extension contract for the use of Andong L House facilities

At an agreement ceremony held in Brussels, Belgium on the 5th, SK Bioscience President Ahn Jae-yong (right side of the picture) and CEPI CEO Richard Hatcht are signing a contract to use the Andong L House facility

SK Bioscience will also entrust production of COVID-19 vaccines from global pharmaceutical companies next year.

 

SK Bioscience announced on the 5th that it has signed an extension contract for the use of Andong L House facilities with CEPI in Brussels, Belgium.

 

It will extend the period of using some of the undiluted production facilities in Andong, which were signed in June last year and are about to expire at the end of this year, to the end of 2022 for the production of COVID-19 vaccines by CEPI-supported companies.

 

The contract said that by the end of next year, three of SK Bioscience's facilities in L-house will be used first to entrust production of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by a company supported by CEPI.

 

The two companies agreed to continue close cooperation to overcome the current pandemic situation and expand cooperation in research on various infectious diseases that have frequently occurred recently and the development of vaccines accordingly.

 

SK Bioscience participated in the world's efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infection and discussed "1 Euro" with only symbolic meaning as an initial down payment to maintain friendly cooperation with international organizations such as CEPI and COVAX facilities.

 

CEPI has decided to continue to utilize SK Bioscience's facilities as a public goal to secure fair vaccine access by supplying additional COVID-19 vaccines around the world through the COVAX facility.

 

COVAX facility currently plans to supply a total of 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine to the world by the first quarter of next year.

 

SK Bioscience plans to accelerate the development of its own COVID-19 vaccine, which is currently in phase 3 clinical trials, in close cooperation with CEPI.

 

The COVID-19 vaccine candidate GBP510 jointly developed by SK Bioscience and Institute for Protein Design (IPD) and using GlaxoSmithKline's Pandemic Technology is currently in phase 3 clinical trials.

 

CEPI cooperated with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation from the initial development stage of the GBP510 and provided SK Bioscience with up to USD 213.7 million in development funds.

 

GBP510 was selected as the first target of the 2nd generation COVID-19 vaccine project operated by CEPI last year to support differentiated COVID-19 vaccine candidate materials.

 

When GBP510 is commercialized, hundreds of millions of vaccinations will be supplied worldwide, including underdeveloped countries.

 

SK Bioscience and CEPI are additionally discussing the development of GBP510 in preparation for variations and research on booster shots.

 

"The additional facility use contract with SK will provide an opportunity to approach the promise of COVAX facilities to protect vulnerable populations through fair vaccine supply, while further strengthening the relationship between CEPI and COVAX facilities and South Korea," said Richard Hatchett, CEO of CEPI.

 

Ahn Jae-yong, president of SK Bioscience, said, "The proven production system and technology shown by global companies during consignment production of the COVID-19 vaccine led to an extension contract with CEPI." Next year, we will secure and supply our own COVID-19 vaccine, which will serve as a hub for global vaccine supply, he said.