SK Bioscience to Develop 'Patch Typhoid Vaccine'... Signs MOU with Baeksas

Development of Patch-Type Typhoid Vaccine
Improving Vaccine Accessibility by Enhancing Convenience of Administration and Distribution
Collaboration with Australian Vaccine Platform Specialist Company
4.7 Billion KRW Support from UK Wellcome Trust Foundation

SK Bioscience announced on the 24th that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Vaxxas, an Australian vaccine platform development specialist company, to jointly develop a typhoid protein-conjugate patch vaccine applying the High Density Microarray Patch (HD-MAP) technology.

Exterior view of SK Bioscience L House located in Andong, Gyeongbuk.
[Photo by SK Bioscience]

The collaboration between the two companies is being carried out with the support of the UK-based global healthcare charity foundation, the Wellcome Trust. Wellcome is a global foundation established to promote human health, supporting key research on factors spreading infectious diseases and the development of solutions for infectious disease control.

Under this agreement, SK Bioscience will supply the antigen for 'SkyTyphoid,' a typhoid vaccine currently approved domestically and undergoing the World Health Organization (WHO) prequalification (PQ) review. Vaxxas will utilize this to develop a 'microarray patch' formulation that adheres to the skin. Wellcome will initially provide approximately AUD 5.4 million (about KRW 4.7 billion), covering the costs up to Phase 1 clinical trials, which are expected to take about two years.

The microarray patch, commonly called a 'microneedle,' is a patch with ultra-fine needles attached that is applied to the skin to deliver drugs directly into the body. Compared to traditional intramuscular injections, it can induce a rapid and effective immunogenic response with a smaller drug dose, and it allows self-administration without the help of healthcare professionals, enhancing convenience and accessibility to vaccines. Additionally, by applying process technology that prevents drug denaturation, it can be stored and distributed at room temperature. SK Bioscience explains that this increases usability in middle- and low-income countries lacking cold chain systems.

SkyTyphoid is a polysaccharide-protein conjugate typhoid vaccine developed jointly by SK Bioscience and the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Compared to existing oral live vaccines or polysaccharide vaccines, it is expected to provide immunogenicity and long-term preventive effects with a single dose and can be administered to infants aged 6 months to 2 years. The company plans to strengthen global competitiveness by building a differentiated formulation platform through collaboration with international organizations, starting with the SkyTyphoid microneedle formulation.

Typhoid fever is an acute systemic febrile illness caused by infection with Salmonella Typhi. It is mainly prevalent in middle- and low-income countries such as Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, where water and sanitation facilities are inadequate, spreading through contaminated water or food. Approximately 9 million typhoid infections occur worldwide annually, with symptoms including fever, headache, chills, skin rash, and diarrhea, and a fatality rate of up to 30%.

Pierre Ballard, Senior Researcher at Wellcome, said, "To protect people from deadly diseases like typhoid, innovative vaccines need to be improved to reach people more equitably worldwide. The microarray patch jointly developed by Vaxxas and SK Bioscience has great potential to improve vaccine accessibility in low-income countries and will play an important role going forward."

David Hoey, CEO of Vaxxas, emphasized, "We are pleased to collaborate with Wellcome Trust and SK Bioscience on the development of the typhoid patch vaccine. We will strive to leverage the advantages of the patch platform to expand the typhoid conjugate vaccine globally and improve human health."

Ahn Jae-yong, CEO of SK Bioscience, stated, "Dangerous diseases frequently occurring in middle- and low-income countries often fail to be widely utilized due to formulation and distribution limitations even after vaccine development. Based on cross-border cooperation with Wellcome Trust, Vaxxas, and various international organizations and institutions, we will continue to develop diverse formulations and products that contribute to improving human health."

Meanwhile, SK Bioscience has strengthened partnerships by starting collaboration with Wellcome and the International Vaccine Institute in 2019 to develop a trivalent candidate vaccine for invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella (iNTS), and in October last year, signing an MOU with the Hillman Institute, a research institution established by Wellcome and global pharmaceutical companies.

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