Choi Chang-won: "Next Pandemic Vaccine Will Be Completed Within 100 Days"

Developed 'Skycovione' through Global Cooperation
Delayed by 1-2 Years... Will Become a Leading Vaccine Next Time

Promoting through Strengthening Global Cooperation and
Enhancing Songdo and Andong Hubs

Choi Chang-won, Vice Chairman of SK Discovery, is delivering the keynote speech at the '2022 Global Bio Conference (GBC)' held on the afternoon of the 5th at the Grand InterContinental Parnas Hotel in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Choi Chang-won, Vice Chairman of SK Discovery, expressed his ambition to complete a new vaccine within 100 days in preparation for another infectious disease pandemic following COVID-19.

On the afternoon of the 5th, at the '2022 Global Bio Conference (GBC)' held at the Grand Intercontinental Parnas Hotel in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Vice Chairman Choi, who attended as a keynote speaker, said, "There are many lessons learned from the COVID-19 response experience, but the most important one is speed," emphasizing, "We shortened the development period from 10 years to 2 years, but we must reduce it further to 100 days."

Typically, new drug development takes about 10 years, going through various stages such as investment, research and development (R&D), clinical trials, production, and approval. However, SK Discovery’s subsidiary SK Bioscience succeeded in developing new vaccines and therapeutics during the COVID-19 pandemic in just about 1 to 2 years, including the first domestically produced COVID-19 vaccine, 'Skycovione.'

Regarding this, Vice Chairman Choi said, "It is an amazing achievement and innovation to shorten the vaccine development period to 2 years while developing a global product with high safety and efficacy," but expressed regret that "(Skycovione) is a vaccine that is 1 to 2 years late compared to the global approval application standards for next-generation vaccines (Wave 2)."

Vice Chairman Choi stated, "For the next pandemic, we aim to be a leading (Wave 1) vaccine supplier," adding that "innovative technology is absolutely necessary as this cannot be achieved with traditional methods and technologies," showing a strong will for innovation. To this end, he presented ▲strengthening global cooperation ▲securing innovative technology platforms ▲expanding infrastructure ▲leading clinical and regulatory processes as concrete methods for innovation.

SK Bioscience's COVID-19 vaccine 'Skycovione Multi' is being shipped from the Andong L House factory.

In terms of global cooperation, Vice Chairman Choi said, "Although we made great efforts for the achievement of Skycovione, I believe it would have been impossible without the help of global partnerships," and added, "We will promote the establishment of closer cooperation." During the development of Skycovione, numerous development challenges were overcome through various collaborations, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), International Vaccine Institute (IVI), Antigen Design Institute (IPD) at the University of Washington providing antigen candidates, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) providing the adjuvant 'AS03,' and AstraZeneca (AZ) supplying comparator vaccines, and they plan to further strengthen such cooperation.

As for the innovation platform, he suggested strengthening the overall process including drug substance (DS), drug product (DP), and platforms during vaccine development. Recognizing the importance of antigen design and adjuvants during the development of Skycovione, they plan to secure related technologies and also acquire the latest vaccine technology, messenger RNA (mRNA), through "global research cooperation and mergers & acquisitions (M&A)" to secure the platform. Regarding drug products, they proposed securing various administration methods such as nasal sprays and microneedles to enable easier dosing.

On the infrastructure front, they will respond by expanding the research and process development (R&PD) center on a 30,000㎡ site in Songdo, Incheon, and the L House in Andong. The Songdo R&PD center will be expanded fivefold from the existing R&D center to become a global research hub, while the Andong L House will secure U.S. GMP certification and triple its facilities, pursuing both quantitative and qualitative growth simultaneously.

Finally, in terms of clinical trials and approvals, besides strengthening their own clinical infrastructure and capabilities, they also called for active government roles. Vice Chairman Choi emphasized, "Currently, the capabilities of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency are at a global level," but added, "Systematic and continuous investment at the government level is necessary, so please prepare for the next pandemic by enhancing capabilities and increasing personnel."

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