GC Green Cross Secures CMO Rights for Shingles Vaccine from U.S. Affiliate Curevo

Production Agreement for Global Sales

GC Green Cross announced on the 13th that it has signed an agreement with its U.S. affiliate Curevo to secure contract manufacturing (CMO) rights for the shingles vaccine "Amezosvatein" (project name CRV-101). Through this agreement, GC Green Cross will produce a portion of the commercial supply of Amezosvatein.

A view of the GC Green Cross headquarters in Giheung-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do. GC Green Cross

The global shingles vaccine market is currently led by GSK's Shingrix. In 2017, the shingles vaccine market was valued at around 1 trillion won, but since the launch of Shingrix in 2018, it has grown by approximately 20% each year, expanding to a market size of 6 trillion won last year. Shingrix surpassed 5 trillion won in global sales last year and holds more than 90% of the total market share.

Amezosvatein is being developed with the goal of securing a double-digit share in the global market. Like Shingrix, Amezosvatein is a recombinant protein vaccine that contains an adjuvant. However, the company emphasized that by using a synthetic adjuvant, the local injection site pain and systemic reactions are expected to remain at levels typical of standard vaccines, which could provide a competitive advantage in terms of tolerability.

In fact, Amezosvatein demonstrated non-inferiority compared to competing drugs in an early Phase 2 clinical trial and showed positive results for tolerability.

Currently, Curevo is conducting an expanded Phase 2 clinical trial of Amezosvatein in 640 adults aged 50 and older. The company plans to complete this trial by 2026 and immediately proceed to Phase 3 clinical trials, with the aim of commercializing the vaccine.

Heo Euncheol, CEO of GC Green Cross, stated, "This agreement is an important milestone in securing GC Green Cross's mid- to long-term growth drivers," and added, "We will continue to expand our global vaccine business."

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