An Jae-yong "Domestic Vaccine Supply to Start Around the End of Next Month"

Initially Planned Supply Mainly to Low- and Middle-Income Countries
"Strong Demand for Korea's First Supply"
Development Expected to Face Challenges... "A Sense of Mission for Korea's Leading Vaccine Company"

Responding to Endemic with Multivalent Vaccines, Universal Vaccines, and Nasal Sprays
Next-Generation Growth Engine Identified as 'CGT CDMO'... New Base in Songdo

Ahn Jae-yong, CEO of SK Bioscience, is explaining the development process of the first domestic COVID-19 vaccine, 'Skycovione,' at a press conference held on the 13th at SK Eco Hub in Pangyo, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province. (Photo by Ministry of Health and Welfare)

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] The supply of South Korea's first domestically produced COVID-19 vaccine, 'SKYCovione,' is expected to begin as early as next month.

On the 13th, SK Bioscience President Jaeyong Ahn stated at a press briefing held at the SK EcoHub in Pangyo, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, "The supply of SKYCovione could start around late August to early September."

Regarding subsequent supply, he explained that they would leverage the advantages of the recombinant antigen vaccine to supply it as timely as possible. He said, "The biggest advantage of the recombinant antigen method is that it can be frozen in its raw form. If the government requests finished pharmaceutical products (DP), we can simply thaw and fill them into vials, so there is flexibility."

President Ahn also emphasized that the initial supply of SKYCovione would be made domestically as a result of SK Bioscience's strong insistence. He revealed, "Initially, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) wanted to supply to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), but we strongly insisted that the contract prioritize supplying enough doses for the people of the Republic of Korea before LMICs."

A researcher at the SK Bioscience Research Center in Pangyo, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, where Korea's first domestic COVID-19 vaccine 'Skycovione' was developed, is holding a vial containing Skycovione. (Photo by Ministry of Health and Welfare)

During the briefing, President Ahn repeatedly mentioned 'One Team.' For the development of SKYCovione, not only SK Bioscience internally but also various domestic agencies including the Government-wide Support Committee for COVID-19 Therapeutics and Vaccines Development, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency collaborated. Internationally, support came from BMGF, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and the International Vaccine Institute (IVI). He further emphasized that without the antigen candidate material from the Institute for Protein Design (IPD) at the University of Washington, the adjuvant 'AS03' from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), and the comparator vaccine provided by AstraZeneca (AZ), vaccine development would have been impossible. It seemed that the name 'One' in SKYCovione not only signified Korea's first but also a vaccine leading the global vaccine market, embodying the spirit of One Team.

President Ahn cited the initial moment of deciding to develop the vaccine as the most challenging. He said, "When we decided to join vaccine development, there were about 20 reasons not to do it," expressing his struggles. Amid uncertainties such as funding, the end of COVID-19, and competition with other global big pharma companies, he explained the reason for his decision was a strong sense of mission as Korea's representative vaccine company that it had to be done.

Clinical Approval Development Director Jihwa Ryu recalled speed as the most difficult factor. Director Ryu emphasized, "The biggest hardship was completing what would normally take 10 years in 2 years," adding, "We did not skip or omit any steps but compressed all processes into a short period." This was a rebuttal to the vaccine skepticism based on the extraordinarily rapid development speed of COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics compared to conventional clinical processes.

Ahn Jae-yong, CEO of SK Bioscience, Ryu Ji-hwa, Head of Clinical Approval Development, and Lee Su-jin, Head of Bio Division 2 (from left), are explaining the development process of the first domestic COVID-19 vaccine, 'Skycovione,' at a press conference held on the 13th at SK Eco Hub in Pangyo, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province. (Photo by Ministry of Health and Welfare)

President Ahn identified obtaining international approvals such as the World Health Organization (WHO) Prequalification (PQ) and UK authorization, along with responding to variants, as remaining tasks following Korea's approval. Regarding the recent spread of Omicron subvariants rather than the original 'Wuhan virus' and the resulting vaccine ineffectiveness claims, he emphasized that these challenges can be overcome. He said, "Once the main prototype is completed, it just needs to be modified accordingly," stressing that the vaccine can be adapted depending on which antigen is included. He added that they are also developing a universal vaccine capable of responding to any variant as a long-term goal.

'SK Bioscience' 3.0... Focusing on Endemic Vaccines and CGT

President Ahn presented the next goals as endemic strategies including multivalent vaccines, universal vaccines, combo vaccines, nasal sprays, and contributing to global public health across the entire spectrum from prevention to treatment through contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) services for cell and gene therapies (CGT).

The foundation for this will be established in Songdo, Incheon. SK Bioscience plans to build a Research and Process Development (R&PD) center on a 30,000㎡ site secured in Songdo. The basic design is currently underway with a target completion in 2024. The plan is to make this a hub for the global vaccine ecosystem.

The R&PD center will also include CGT CDMO facilities. President Ahn said, "Some may ask, 'Why suddenly CGT?' but the technology is almost similar to vaccines in terms of cell culture and purification processes," adding, "We are in talks with top-tier companies and hope to share good news within the third or fourth quarter of this year."

Researchers are conducting studies at the SK Bioscience Research Center in Pangyo, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, where the development of Korea's first domestic COVID-19 vaccine, 'Skycovione,' was achieved. (Photo by Ministry of Health and Welfare)

Regarding vaccines, they are also securing core technologies. President Ahn said, "I believe messenger RNA (mRNA) is a must-have technology," and since they have narrowed down the candidates for technology acquisition, "We expect to share good results soon."

The previously presented four endemic strategies adopt a selection and concentration approach. While focusing on the development of multivalent and universal vaccines currently underway, the nasal spray, which has both vaccine and therapeutic characteristics, will continue development in collaboration with organizations such as the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI).

However, combo vaccines that combine influenza and other respiratory disease vaccines with COVID-19 vaccines are expected to be somewhat lower in priority. President Ahn explained, "Technologically, progress is proceeding smoothly, but we are evaluating whether investing in this is appropriate," adding, "Although combining influenza and COVID-19 vaccines offers convenience, clinical trials would need to be redone, so we are considering whether it is sufficiently attractive to enter this market."

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