DA Tech Strengthens KoviVac Supply Chain... Industry-Academic Cooperation with Ajou University ICC

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] DA Technology announced on the 2nd that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish an industry-academic joint venture (JV) with Ajou University Advanced Medical Bio ICC and Pharma Bio Tech Global (PBTG).

Through this three-party industry-academic cooperation, the domestic production of the CoviVac vaccine, which is set to be fully operational in December, is expected to expand to an annual scale of 500 million doses.

The main point of this MOU is to establish a joint venture for the full technology transfer, development, and production of the CoviVac vaccine as well as the inactivated virion platform (Whole Virion Platform), and for new vaccine development through industry-academic cooperation.

DA Technology plans to supply an additional reactor capacity for 300 million doses beyond the existing annual supply of 100 million doses reactors, with plans to expand to a total scale of 500 million doses in the future. Additionally, DA Technology will jointly promote the procurement and supply of raw materials for vaccine production and global vaccine sales with PBTG, expecting not only external growth but also a significant increase in profits.

PBTG, recently visited by Russian PBT, will oversee technology transfer for raw material production (DS), domestic production, and overseas sales. In cooperation with Ajou University ICC and DA Technology, PBTG will secure an additional production line of 100 million doses established at the Andong Animal Cell Validation Support Center to build a mass production system for 300 million doses of the CoviVac vaccine annually.

Ajou University ICC will support human resources by providing technology transfer for CoviVac and the inactivated virion platform, research and development, dispatching production personnel, and education.

The production target for 2022 for four Russian vaccines?CoviVac, Sputnik Light, Sputnik V, and EpiVacCorona?is known to reach 2 billion doses. However, Russia’s current domestic vaccine production capacity is less than 100 million doses, indicating a growing dependence on overseas production.

According to PBTG, purchase intentions have already been received from Southeast Asia, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Middle East, Egypt, and South America, making mass production of the CoviVac vaccine urgent. The World Health Organization (WHO) continues to request CoviVac vaccine supply for Africa, the Middle East, and South America, making further expansion of the CoviVac production line inevitable to meet market demand.

A company official stated, “Russia developed the vaccine but has not secured mass production facilities, so the trend is to establish a mass production system in Korea, which has a verified production system.” He added, “DA Technology will focus all efforts on domestic mass production and overseas sales of the CoviVac vaccine together with PBTG, from raw material procurement and supply to additional reactor construction.” He further noted, “Participation in the CoviVac vaccine supply chain is expected to drive meaningful growth for DA Technology.”

The three-party MOU signing ceremony held at Ajou University the previous day was attended by Konstantin Bondarenko, Chairman of Russian PBT, Kim Soo-dong, Director of Ajou University ICC, the Director of the Convergence Promotion Support Center, the Vice Dean of the Medical School, and executives from PBTG and DA Technology.

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