SK Bioscience Varicella Vaccine Secures Additional Orders in Latin America's Largest Procurement Market

Supplied to Latin America Since 2022
SkyVaricella Secures Additional Orders for Three Consecutive Years

Photo of Skybaricella export product. Photo by SK Bioscience

SK Bioscience has accelerated its overseas market expansion by successfully securing additional orders for its self-developed varicella vaccine in the largest international procurement market in Latin America.

On the 28th, SK Bioscience announced that it received prior notification from PAHO (Pan American Health Organization), an international organization under the UN, to supply its self-developed varicella vaccine to the Latin American region until 2027. This represents a preliminary bid win for entering the Latin American market, and SK Bioscience's varicella vaccine, "SkyVaricella," will be supplied to the Latin American region according to PAHO's future order volumes.

SK Bioscience first succeeded in winning the PAHO varicella vaccine bid in 2022. Over the past three years, it has built trust by supplying steadily to Latin America. PAHO, together with UNICEF, is one of the largest vaccine demand organizations in the world, responsible for large-scale vaccine procurement on behalf of Latin American countries. To participate in PAHO bids, strict WHO (World Health Organization) PQ (Prequalification) certification is mandatory, and SkyVaricella secured PQ certification in 2019 as the world's second vaccine to do so, successfully entering the Latin American market.

Commercialized in 2018, SkyVaricella demonstrated immunogenicity and efficacy in children aged 12 months to 12 years through global clinical trials. Notably, it used a PQ-certified global pharmaceutical company's varicella vaccine as a control group to prove superior antibody levels and comparable safety. Additionally, it is produced at the Andong L-House, which has received global GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) certification, ensuring supply stability.

Based on its competitiveness in supplying vaccines for six consecutive years to PAHO, the integrated procurement organization in Latin America, SK Bioscience plans to expand exports to other regions such as Southeast Asia.

According to the latest report by global market research firm Market Research Intellect, the global varicella vaccine market is expected to grow at an average annual rate of about 6.3%, reaching approximately $5.76 billion (about 8.3 trillion KRW) by 2031. This growth results from governments' expanded vaccination policies and increased vaccine demand, with the importance of vaccine supply through international organizations rising especially in emerging markets such as Latin America, Asia, and Africa.

In addition to SkyVaricella, SK Bioscience is pursuing overseas market expansion with various self-developed vaccines. National approvals are underway or completed for various vaccines such as the influenza vaccine "SkyCellflu," the shingles vaccine "SkyZoster," and the typhoid vaccine "SkyTyphoid," with plans to actively open sales channels through export contracts and bid wins.

Moreover, the 21-valent pneumococcal vaccine co-developed with Sanofi is progressing smoothly through Phase 3 clinical trials aiming for a global launch. If successfully launched, it is expected to further strengthen SK vaccines' competitiveness in the global vaccine market, including advanced countries such as the United States and Europe.

Jinseon Park, Head of Marketing & Business Development at SK Bioscience, said, "SkyVaricella's successful establishment in the Latin American market through PAHO is the result of demonstrating excellent product quality and stable production capabilities," adding, "We will continue to pioneer overseas markets based on a diverse vaccine portfolio."

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