Ahn Jae-yong, President of SK Bioscience, "COVID-19 Vaccine Phase 3 Clinical Trial Next Month, Supply in First Half of Next Year" (Comprehensive)

"Considering Safety and Effectiveness, One Option Selected... Best Effort for Early Domestic Supply"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jung] The COVID-19 vaccine being developed by SK Bioscience is expected to enter Phase 3 clinical trials as early as the end of next month.

On the 27th, Ahn Jae-yong, president of SK Bioscience, stated at the webinar "Vaccine Crisis, How to Overcome It" hosted by the Choi Jong-hyun Academic Foundation, "Among the three projects of two synthetic antigen vaccine candidates (GBP510·NBP2001) currently under development, the candidate with the best data will enter Phase 3 clinical trials by the end of June."

President Ahn said, "The most important factor in synthetic antigen vaccine technology is the adjuvant, and fortunately, the data so far has been promising," adding, "We will select one candidate comprehensively considering safety, efficacy, distribution, cost-effectiveness, and productivity."

Currently, SK Bioscience is conducting clinical trials of vaccines utilizing the 'ASO3' adjuvant developed by GSK and the Alum adjuvant. They plan to select one candidate with good results and enter Phase 3 clinical trials by July at the latest, aiming to supply a domestically produced vaccine in the first half of next year. President Ahn mentioned, "We will do our best to supply it as soon as possible within the first half of the year."

Regarding GBP510, which received funding support from the international private organization Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), he stated that since SK Bioscience holds ownership, a significant portion of the produced vaccines will be supplied to Korea first. President Ahn explained, "Although CEPI provided funding, all ownership belongs to SK. While the contract allows for global healthcare distribution, there is a certain secured right for Korea."

Addressing concerns about whether it is too late to develop vaccines now, he said, "Vaccines are far from sufficient to cover the global population," and added, "Currently, messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines are sensitive to cold chain logistics, so vaccines using synthetic antigen technology that can be stored and distributed at 2?8 degrees Celsius need to be developed." He further stated, "Although SK Bioscience is not the first to develop a vaccine, we aim to grow into a company that can reliably protect Korea's rear."

President Ahn emphasized that Korea's global vaccine hub theme is very effective. He evaluated, "Global companies want to have one production base each in the Americas, Europe, and Asia," and added, "Korea is geographically advantageous and can produce high-quality products at low cost, making it attractive to global companies."

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