SK Chemicals, Comprehensive Response to COVID-19

Extended Reach from Therapeutics to Vaccine Development

A researcher at SK Bioscience is conducting research for vaccine production.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] SK Chemicals has embarked on the development of therapeutics and vaccines for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). While several pharmaceutical and biotech companies are preparing to develop either therapeutics or vaccines amid the global pandemic, few have ventured into both fields simultaneously.

SK Chemicals is attracting attention as it has experience in developing Korea’s first new drug and its main businesses?blood products and vaccines?are considered crucial areas in the current COVID-19 situation. The most advanced area is drug repositioning, which investigates whether existing therapeutics are effective against COVID-19. SK Chemicals is supplying Alvesco (active ingredient ciclesonide), used as a preventive treatment for bronchial asthma, to 11 domestic medical institutions conducting clinical trials for COVID-19 therapeutics.

The company has held domestic sales rights for Alvesco since 2014. Hutaan (active ingredient nafamostat mesylate), a blood anticoagulant and acute pancreatitis treatment first introduced and sold in Korea in 2005, is also among the drug repositioning candidates. According to the Korea Pasteur Institute, this ingredient has been confirmed to inhibit COVID-19 virus infection. Avigan, a novel influenza therapeutic undergoing clinical trials in Japan, was developed by the local company Fujifilm Toyama Chemical, and SK Chemicals is its Korean partner.

SK Plasma, a plasma therapeutic specialist company spun off from SK Chemicals, is developing blood products. Blood products are medicines produced from blood as a raw material, and SK Plasma plans to develop a therapeutic by evaluating the efficacy and safety of plasma obtained from recovered COVID-19 patients. Additionally, they are developing immunoglobulin technology to isolate only the COVID-19 immune proteins from recovered patients’ plasma and produce them as therapeutics. SK Chemicals’ subsidiary SK Bioscience, a vaccine specialist company, recently identified candidate substances and is conducting preclinical trials. After completing preclinical trials, they aim to enter clinical trials involving humans around September.

SK Bioscience identified antigens that induce antibody formation for immunity and secured vaccine candidates through various protein culture and purification platforms. The vaccine candidates are in a subunit form that includes parts of the virus, which is considered safer than other vaccines. The company also received $3.6 million in research and development funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop COVID-19 vaccine antigens, reflecting high expectations for future development potential.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.