LG Chem Supplies Polio Vaccine to Over 70 Countries

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] LG Chem announced on the 7th that it has signed a contract with UNICEF (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund) to supply $80 million (approximately 87 billion KRW) worth of the polio vaccine 'Upolio.'

Upolio is a next-generation inactivated vaccine that uses an attenuated virus with reduced toxicity and undergoes an additional chemical process to eliminate pathogenicity. It is relatively safer than the existing live vaccine, which uses a live virus with weak toxicity.

LG Chem's Upolio received the Prequalification (PQ) certification from the World Health Organization (WHO) at the end of December last year, becoming the world's first attenuated inactivated vaccine to pass the essential review for international organization vaccine supply.

Three weeks after PQ approval, LG Chem signed a large-scale supply contract and will start supplying to more than 70 countries worldwide, mainly in the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia, starting in February.

With this contract, LG Chem will supply more than 20% of the polio vaccine volume procured by UNICEF. This means LG Chem has entered the top three suppliers of polio vaccines in the UNICEF procurement market.

LG Chem stated, "We plan to double Upolio production capacity by 2022 to contribute to solving polio diseases among children worldwide."

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