Preventing COVID-19 by Spraying in the Nose... SK Bioscience Launches Development of 'Nasal Spray'

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] SK Bioscience is actively preparing for the 'Next Pandemic' by promoting the development of new-concept bio-pharmaceuticals for prevention and treatment following vaccines.

On the 13th, SK Bioscience announced that it will develop an innovative drug in the form of a 'Nasal Spray' that sprays antiviral proteins into the nasal cavity to prevent infections such as the COVID-19 virus.

Earlier, at a press briefing held last month, SK Bioscience President Ahn Jae-yong revealed plans to continue market and public health responses after COVID-19 through various next-generation vaccines, including ▲'multivalent vaccines' capable of responding to multiple variants ▲'combo vaccines' combining COVID-19 and influenza ▲'universal vaccines' effective against any variant ▲and nasal spray preventive and therapeutic agents sprayed into the nose, in preparation for the endemic phase of COVID-19.

SK Bioscience's 'Next Pandemic Response Strategy'

The nasal spray works by forming a protective barrier inside the nose upon nasal administration, preventing viruses from penetrating into the body. Small protein molecules disrupt viral invasion to prevent infection. It can be widely applied to various infectious diseases and offers both preventive and therapeutic effects. Since being published in the international journal 'Science' in September 2020, it has been recognized as a groundbreaking technology. SK Bioscience expects that if the product is successfully commercialized, it will serve as a primary defense line that proactively blocks virus spread before vaccine and therapeutic development, similar to the critical role masks played in preventing the spread during this pandemic.

In particular, nasal spray drugs have the advantage of being storable at room temperature, making manufacturing and distribution easier, and can be used multiple times due to their multi-dose formulation. This is expected to help resolve vaccine supply imbalances that occurred during urgent health situations like the COVID-19 pandemic and contribute to establishing a proactive global epidemic response system.

SK Bioscience's 'L House Vaccine Center' in Andong-si, Gyeongbuk (Photo by SK Bioscience)

This project is being conducted in collaboration with overseas research institutions such as the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and the Institute for Protein Design (IPD) at the University of Washington, supported by research and development funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). BMGF provides R&D funding to IAVI, and SK Bioscience will initially receive about $2.2 million (approximately 2.7 billion KRW) from IAVI as early preclinical development funding. SK Bioscience plans to use this for initial process research for candidate discovery and production.

For candidate development, SK Bioscience collaborates with IPD. Previously, IPD utilized its 'self-assembling nanoparticle' design technology to co-develop the COVID-19 vaccine 'GBP510' with SK Bioscience. SK Bioscience has already begun development and research on the initial process by receiving technology transfer for candidate substances under development by IPD. It plans to produce candidate substances for preclinical and clinical trials. SK Bioscience aims to establish the nasal spray as a platform drug for the prevention and treatment of respiratory viruses and to broadly expand its application in collaboration with IAVI and IPD.

President Ahn Jae-yong stated, “Through this research, once we secure differentiated methods for preventing and treating viral infections, we expect to respond rapidly to continuously evolving respiratory viruses. Our efforts to develop drugs that can prevent and treat viruses threatening humanity are leading to various international collaborations, and through this, SK Bioscience is evolving into a global company.”

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