SK Bioscience said that it has shipped out the first 840,000 doses of Nuvaxovid, Korea's first synthetic antigen-based Covid-19 vaccine, from its plant in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, on Wednesday.
The shipment follows the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety's approval for the vaccine on Jan. 12. The company plans to ship out two million doses by the end of this month. Nuvaxovid is a Covid-19 vaccine developed by Novavax, a U.S. pharmaceutical company. SK Bioscience is in charge of stock solutions to finished products.
SK Bioscience had secured production and supply rights to Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam through a license agreement with Novavax.
In Korea, the company reached a pre-purchase contract with the government for 40 million doses of Nuvaxovid, and the company plans to supply the vaccine sequentially according to the vaccination plan of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.
As Nuvaxovid is the first synthetic antigen-based Covid-19 vaccine, SK Bioscience and Novavax expect to create a market differentiated from existing vaccines.
The synthetic antigen-based vaccine platform has been used for a long time in existing vaccines such as influenza, hepatitis B, and cervical cancer, with proven safety and efficacy.
Also, as hospitals can store the vaccine under refrigeration conditions of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, the government can distribute Nuvaxovid using the existing vaccine distribution network.
Novavax also confirmed Nuvaxovid's effectiveness in preventing the Covid-19 virus reached 90 percent. Most of the adverse reactions that occurred after vaccination were mild or moderate.
Novavax is expanding the vaccination age through phase 3 clinical trials in the U.S., targeting 3,000 adolescents aged 12-17.
In separate trials, the company proved that a booster shot of Nuvaxovid six months after receiving the first two doses of Nuvaxovid could increase the antibody titer by 4.6 times and confirm the vaccine's immune response against the Omicron and other variants.
"To contribute to the national quarantine policy during the pandemic, we have introduced various vaccines developed globally to Korea and are also developing our vaccines," SK Bioscience CEO Ahn Jae-yong said. "We will keep more people safe from viruses with a proven platform vaccine."