"Develop Accessible COVID-19 Vaccine"… SK Receives $10 Million Support

A researcher at SK Bioscience is conducting R&D for vaccine development.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] SK Bioscience's COVID-19 vaccine candidate under development has been selected as a beneficiary of a vaccine development and distribution project promoted by an international non-governmental organization.

The company announced on the 9th that GBP510, the second COVID-19 vaccine candidate under development, has been selected as a beneficiary of the next-generation COVID-19 vaccine development project Wave2, conducted by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and will receive $10 million in research and development funding. Wave2 is a project launched by CEPI with a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Its purpose is to select and support differentiated COVID-19 vaccine candidates.

This support is notable as it is the first selection since CEPI launched Wave2 last month. CEPI aims to discover additional vaccine candidates that are cheaper and more widely distributable in terms of storage methods, number of doses, productivity, and immune response, beyond the COVID-19 vaccines currently developed or under development. SK Bioscience received development funding to be used for clinical phases 1/2 during the development process of this candidate.

After development, the vaccine is expected to be supplied worldwide through the COVAX Facility, which involves over 180 countries led by international organizations such as CEPI, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the World Health Organization (WHO). This consortium is a collaborative body for joint development and procurement of COVID-19 vaccines, involving governments and private companies from various countries.

The GBP510 candidate selected for support this time was jointly developed by SK Bioscience and the Antigen Design Research Institute at the University of Washington in the United States, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in May. It is characterized by an antigen structure designed to enhance immune efficacy. SK’s gene recombination technology and the University of Washington’s self-assembling nanoparticle design technology were applied. The company submitted an Investigational New Drug (IND) application related to this candidate to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on the same day. The efficacy tests on rodents and primates are in the final stages, and the company reported that they confirmed a high level of induced neutralizing antibodies and protective effects blocking virus replication.

Richard Hatchett, CEO of CEPI, stated, "As the first investment in Wave2 vaccines, developing a better form of COVID-19 vaccine to provide higher accessibility will be a good option to overcome COVID-19." SK Bioscience CEO Ahn Jae-yong said, "Our goal is to create a COVID-19 vaccine with verified safety and efficacy."

Earlier, in June, the company signed a facility use agreement with CEPI to use part of the raw material production facilities at its domestic plant for COVID-19 vaccine production by companies supported by CEPI. In July, it signed a contract to produce raw materials and finished products for the COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford in the UK, and production is currently underway.

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