SK Bioscience has extended its capacity reservation contract with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to use its L-House plant in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, to produce Covid-19 vaccines supported by CEPI.
Under the accord, three of SK Bioscience's nine L-House production facilities will prioritize the consignment production of a Covid-19 vaccine developed by a company supported by CEPI until the end of 2022, the company said Wednesday. The two sides initially signed the same contract in June last year, with the agreement originally set to expire by the end of this year.
To contribute to global efforts to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and maintain cooperative relations with international organizations, such as CEPI and COVAX facility, the down payment for the contract was set at 1 euro. CEPI decided to continue using SK Bioscience's facilities with the shared goal of securing equal access to vaccines, such as supplying additionally secured Covid-19 vaccines globally through the COVAX facility.
COVAX Facility currently plans to supply a total of two billion Covid-19 vaccine doses worldwide by the first quarter of next year.
In the existing L-House facility use contract, SK Bioscience conducted a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) contract with Novavax, a U.S. Covid-19 vaccine company, with the support of CEPI.
SK Bioscience also plans to accelerate the development of its Covid-19 vaccine under close cooperation with CEPI.
Covid-19 vaccine candidate, GBP510, developed jointly by SK Bioscience and the Washington University Institute for Protein Design and uses GSK's pandemic adjuvant technology, is currently in phase 3 clinical trials.
CEPI cooperated with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation from the initial development stage of GBP510 and provided $213.7 million for SK Bioscience to help it develop the vaccine.
GBP510 was also selected as the first target for the "Wave 2" project, a project launched by CEPI last year to support differentiated COVID-19 vaccine candidates.
If commercialized, SK Bioscience and CEPI plan to supply hundreds of millions of injections worldwide, including underdeveloped countries.
SK Bioscience and CEPI are also discussing the development of GBP510 to combat variants and as a booster shot.
"Although companies have released 6.2 billion vaccine doses, the rate of people that received the first jab of the vaccine in underdeveloped countries is only 2.3 percent," CEPI CEO Richard Hatchett said. "We must continue to work to address these inequalities."
The additional facility use contract with SK Bioscience will provide an opportunity to move closer to COVAX's promise of protecting vulnerable populations through an equitable supply of vaccines, Hatchett added.
Hatchett also noted that the contract would further strengthen the relationship between CEPI, COVAX, and Korea, contributing to controlling the Covid-19 pandemic.
SK Bioscience CEO Ahn Jae-yong also said, "SK Bioscience's proven production system and technology demonstrated by consigning production of Covid-19 vaccines to global companies led to the extension of this contract with CEPI."
Next year, the company will secure and supply its Covid-19 vaccine and serve as a hub for global vaccine supply, Ahn added.