SK Bioscience Partners with CEPI for mRNA Vaccine Development... "Expanding Vaccine Portfolio"

$140 Million Support for Platform Construction
Securing Additional New Vaccines, Building Pandemic Response

From the left, Richard Hatchett, CEPI CEO; Park Min-su, 2nd Vice Minister of Health and Welfare; Choi Chang-won, Vice Chairman of SK Discovery.
[Photo by SK Bioscience]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] SK Bioscience, which succeeded in developing Korea's first COVID-19 vaccine, is preparing to leap forward in vaccine research and development (R&D) by partnering with international organizations. The plan is to secure messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccine platform technology for rapid response to emerging infectious diseases and to establish a diverse vaccine portfolio.

On the 25th, SK Bioscience and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) held a signing ceremony at the Walkerhill Hotel in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, agreeing to collaborate on mRNA vaccine development. Attendees included Richard Hatchett, CEPI CEO; Park Min-su, 2nd Vice Minister of Health and Welfare; Choi Chang-won, Vice Chairman of SK Discovery; and Ahn Jae-yong, President of SK Bioscience.

This agreement was made with the purpose of SK Bioscience, which has secured the latest vaccine platform technologies such as cell culture, bacterial culture, and genetic recombination, expanding its platform to include mRNA and building an R&D system capable of preventing existing or unknown viruses in collaboration with international organizations.

CEPI selected SK Bioscience as the first recipient of its support project titled "Development of RNA Vaccine Platform Technology and Vaccine Library for Emerging Select Epidemic Infectious Diseases," aimed at rapidly responding to 'Disease-X' (unknown infectious diseases) and addressing vaccine supply imbalances in middle- and low-income countries. SK Bioscience will utilize the Japanese encephalitis virus and Lassa fever virus in its mRNA vaccine platform research.

Through this agreement, SK Bioscience will receive up to $140 million (approximately 200 billion KRW) in R&D funding from CEPI. Initially, $40 million will be provided to conduct clinical phases 1/2 for two mRNA vaccine platform research projects, followed by an additional $100 million to support phase 3 clinical trials and regulatory approval.

Furthermore, SK Bioscience and CEPI agreed to continuously expand their cooperative relationship by developing various vaccines based on the mRNA platform to respond to infectious disease outbreaks in middle- and low-income countries.

SK Bioscience plans to rapidly respond to epidemic risks using the mRNA vaccine platform and enhanced networks established through cooperation with international organizations. By leveraging the mRNA platform, the company aims to strengthen existing pipelines and apply it to new pipelines such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines, cytomegalovirus (CMV) vaccines, and cancer vaccines, thereby expanding its influence in the global market.

CEO Hatchett stated, “In a situation where new viruses can emerge at any time, the most important capability is to respond swiftly to unknown viruses within just 100 days. The expansion of our partnership with SK Bioscience will contribute to the global effort to validate mRNA platform technology and bring us one step closer to achieving the 100-day mission for the next pandemic preparedness.”

Vice Chairman Choi said, “The whole world agrees that 'speed' is the most crucial factor in protecting humanity from future pandemics. Based on networks with global institutions and companies such as CEPI, we will strive to achieve innovation in vaccine development and ultimately contribute to the improvement of global health.”

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