SK Bioscience has completed its application for conditional approval of its self-developed COVID-19 vaccine, ‘Skycovione Multi Injection (hereinafter referred to as Skycovione, UK/European product name Skycovion)’, to the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
SkyCovid One is a COVID-19 vaccine jointly developed by the Institute for Protein Design (IPD) at the University of Washington College of Pharmacy and SK Bioscience. GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)’s adjuvant AS03 was applied to strengthen the immune response and induce neutralizing antibodies.
From the early stages of development, development costs were supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Coalition for Epidemic Prevention and Vaccines (CEPI), and after obtaining WHO Emergency Use Listing (EUL) registration, the COVAX Facility, etc. It is planned to be supplied to the global market through.
SKYCOVIONE uses a ‘synthetic antigen’ method that has been proven safe and has been used for a long time in flu and HPV vaccines. In addition, through global phase 3 clinical trials, excellent immunogenicity was demonstrated after primary vaccination compared to the control vaccine (AstraZeneca’s ‘Vaxzeria’), and through phase 1/2 clinical extension studies, booster shot vaccination was effective against omicron mutation (BA.1). It was confirmed that there was a high immune response to
SK Bioscience’s ambition is to introduce a competitive domestic vaccine to the rapidly growing global COVID-19 vaccine market, starting with the UK and European countries.
In fact, according to Airfinity, a global healthcare market analysis agency, the global COVID-19 vaccine market last year was worth $65.6 billion (about KRW 78 trillion), which is twice the market for vaccines excluding COVID-19 ($33 billion). Experts predict that as COVID-19 prolongs, the COVID-19 vaccine market this year will grow to $84.9 billion (approximately 101 trillion won), a 29% increase from last year. In particular, the European market is expected to expand further as the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), which oversees the EU’s quarantine and health policies, and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) changed the target for the fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine from 80 to 60 last month. see.
SkyCoViOne is also expected to contribute to reducing Korea’s dependence on vaccine imports. Before the development of SKYCOVIONE, Korea’s dependence on vaccine imports increased as all citizens were vaccinated with COVID-19 vaccines developed by foreign companies. According to the Korea Customs Service’s export and import trade statistics, Korea’s vaccine imports last year amounted to $2.35 billion, a seven-fold increase from a year ago ($340 million).
SK Bioscience President Ahn Jae-yong said, “People around the world are still threatened with their daily lives due to the repeated emergence of COVID-19 mutations,” and added, “We will play our role as a global vaccine hub by advancing our self-developed vaccine into overseas markets and developing a new platform to respond to the pandemic.” “We will fulfill our responsibilities,” he said.
Source: Pangyo Techno Valley Official Newsroom
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