African CDC Director General Visits SK Bioscience... "Discussing Cooperation for Vaccine Self-Sufficiency"

Introduction to the 'Glocalization' Project... Cooperation Discussions
"We Will Develop Proactive Pandemic Response Capabilities"

SK Bioscience announced on the 5th that Jin Kaseya, Director-General of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), visited its headquarters located in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province on the 3rd to discuss cooperation plans for vaccine self-sufficiency in Africa.

Jin Kaseya, Secretary General of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (4th from the left in the front row), visited the headquarters of SK Bioscience located in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, and met with President Ahn Jae-yong (5th from the left in the front row) and others to discuss cooperation plans for the regional vaccine self-sufficiency project.
[Photo by SK Bioscience]

Since his appointment as Director-General of the Africa CDC in February, Jin Kaseya has been touring various countries to promote the vaccine self-sufficiency project, and during his visit to Korea, he visited SK Bioscience to discuss this project.

The Africa CDC delegation, including Director-General Kaseya, met with Ahn Jae-yong, President of SK Bioscience, and others to explain the regional vaccine self-sufficiency project called the 'Partnership for African Vaccine Manufacturing (PAVM)' and discuss cooperation plans.

The Africa CDC is conducting various projects on behalf of African countries with the goal of locally producing 60% of all vaccines distributed within the region by 2040. PAVM is a major project led by the Africa CDC aimed at establishing a vaccine self-production ecosystem within Africa. The strategy involves forming strategic partnerships with global companies possessing vaccine development technology and production capabilities, building regional production facilities and cold chain infrastructure, and assembling a vaccine portfolio to respond to tuberculosis, hepatitis B, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), malaria, Ebola, and other diseases.

On this day, SK Bioscience explained the 'Glocalization' project, a mid- to long-term core strategy based on a global network, as a promotion plan for PAVM. The Glocalization project is a venture to transplant research and development (R&D) and production bases into countries with insufficient vaccine infrastructure. The project was initiated by signing a contract with a state-owned pharmaceutical company under the Thai government in July, and in September, during the visit of the Serbian Prime Minister to Korea, SK Bioscience signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) aiming to advance the Glocalization project.

The Africa CDC delegation discussed cooperation plans between the two countries along with explanations of SK Bioscience’s Glocalization project, toured various research facilities, and listened to vaccine development expertise.

Jin Kaseya, Director-General of the Africa CDC, said, "I first encountered SK Bioscience’s Glocalization project at the Regional Vaccine Manufacturing Collaboration (RVMC) event held in Geneva last May. Today, it was a meaningful time to hear a direct explanation of the project and tour the development site." He added, "We will further expand global cooperation to achieve the goal of vaccine self-sufficiency in Africa, focusing on expanding production facilities in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment areas."

Ahn Jae-yong, President of SK Bioscience, said, "The Glocalization project is an innovative business model that goes beyond simply building factories locally; it simultaneously creates social value by resolving vaccine supply inequality and economic value by strategically expanding overseas markets." He added, "Through cooperation with various governments, institutions, and companies, we will take the lead to ensure humanity no longer suffers from another pandemic."

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