SK Bioscience to Supply Varicella Vaccine Worth 37.6 Billion KRW to Latin America

SK Bioscience 'Skybaricellaju'

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] SK Bioscience is accelerating its growth as a global vaccine company by successfully winning a bid for varicella vaccine worth 31.27 million USD (approximately 37.6 billion KRW).

On the 14th, SK Bioscience announced that it received a preliminary notification of a tentative order for varicella vaccines worth 31.27 million USD from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), an international organization under the United Nations. This marks the successful pre-bid to enter the Latin American market. Going forward, SK Bioscience will supply its self-developed varicella vaccine, "Sky Varicella," to the Latin American region according to PAHO's order volume. This is the first time SK Bioscience has won a PAHO bid.

PAHO, together with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), is the largest vaccine demand entity in the world, responsible for large-scale vaccine procurement on behalf of Latin American countries. To participate in international bids organized by UN-affiliated organizations such as PAHO, prequalification (PQ) certification from the World Health Organization (WHO) is mandatory. SK Bioscience’s Sky Varicella was the second varicella vaccine worldwide to receive WHO PQ certification in 2019.

Commercialized in 2018, Sky Varicella’s immunogenicity and efficacy were confirmed through multinational global clinical trials involving children aged 12 months to 12 years, including those in Latin America. Notably, it demonstrated superior antibody levels and comparable safety by using an existing WHO PQ-certified varicella vaccine as a control. Additionally, it is produced at the L House facility in Andong, Gyeongbuk, which has received global Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certification, ensuring supply stability.

According to the global market research firm Allied Market Research, the global varicella vaccine market was valued at 2.714 billion USD (approximately 3.2546 trillion KRW) in 2018 and is expected to grow at an annual rate of 5.6%, reaching 4.22 billion USD (approximately 5 trillion KRW) by 2026.

Sky Varicella is currently exported to overseas countries such as Thailand. Through national public bids, more than 1.5 million doses were supplied to Turkey until last year. Furthermore, SK Bioscience is steadily expanding its global market base by pursuing approvals in Latin American countries including Chile and Mexico.

Jae-yong Ahn, President of SK Bioscience, said, “Winning the PAHO bid is a meaningful achievement that proves the global market competitiveness of the vaccine we developed.” He added, “As SK Bioscience’s technological capabilities are recognized overseas, we will leverage this foundation to pursue various global projects and grow into a leading company in the global vaccine market.”

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