Orion Holdings Signs 'Vaccine Development Support and Cooperation Agreement' with Jining City, Shandong Province, China

Secured approximately 49,600㎡ vaccine factory site in Jining City
Investing about 90 billion KRW, factory with vaccine production facilities planned for completion in 2024

(Front row from the left) Baek Yong-un, CEO of Shandong Lukang Haoliyou, and Xu Tingfu, Deputy Director of Jining High-tech Zone, are posing for a commemorative photo at the signing ceremony of the "China Vaccine Development Business Support and Cooperation Agreement."

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] Orion Holdings announced on the 13th that it has signed a "China Vaccine Development Project Support and Cooperation Agreement" with Jining City, Shandong Province, China, in collaboration with its joint venture in China, Shandong Lukang Haoriyou Biological Technology Development Co., Ltd. (Shandong Lukang Haoriyou), and global vaccine specialist Curatis, regarding the development of a tuberculosis vaccine.

Through this agreement, Shandong Lukang Haoriyou secured approximately 49,600㎡ (15,000 pyeong) of land within the bio-industrial complex located in the Gaoxin District of Jining City for the construction of a vaccine manufacturing plant. Additionally, the Shandong provincial government and Jining City will actively support the establishment of production facilities and licensing to expedite the development and commercialization of the tuberculosis vaccine. Shandong Lukang Haoriyou plans to invest a total of about 90 billion KRW to establish a state-of-the-art vaccine manufacturing plant, aiming for completion in 2024. The design of the vaccine plant has already commenced, and clinical trials are expected to begin once the plant is completed.

This agreement is significant as it secures government full support for the acquisition of factory land and licensing, which are considered the most critical steps when entering the Chinese bio market. Earlier this year, the Shandong provincial government selected the tuberculosis vaccine development project as a key initiative and has been providing active support. Currently, the only commercially available tuberculosis vaccine worldwide is BCG, which targets infants and young children; there are no vaccines for adolescents and adults after infancy. The Chinese government has designated tuberculosis as a priority infectious disease for management, reflecting strong national interest, which is expected to accelerate the tuberculosis vaccine development project.

Orion Holdings established the joint venture Shandong Lukang Haoriyou last March with the Chinese state-owned pharmaceutical company Shandong Lukang Pharmaceutical, and is promoting a business to introduce promising domestic bio technologies and commercialize them locally in China. In May of the same year, it completed the introduction of early colorectal cancer diagnosis technology from the domestic early cancer diagnosis specialist Genomictree, and in November, it established large-scale mass production facilities for cancer in vitro diagnostic product development in China. In February of this year, it signed a contract with Curatis for joint development of a tuberculosis vaccine and is closely cooperating to expand the vaccine pipeline in China.

An Orion Holdings official said, “Through partnerships with Shandong Province and Jining City in China, we have gained stronger momentum in the tuberculosis vaccine development project by securing factory land, establishing production facilities, and receiving related licensing support. Moving forward, we will continue to discover new promising technologies such as synthetic drugs and biopharmaceuticals and diversify the group’s new growth business in the bio sector.”

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