SK Bioscience will develop a new drug that prevents infections, such as the Covid-19 virus, by spraying antiviral protein into the nose.

SK Bioscience said it would cooperate with global research institutes to develop a nasal-type antiviral medicine that prevents infections.
SK Bioscience said it would cooperate with global research institutes to develop a nasal-type antiviral medicine that prevents infections.

The company said Wednesday that it would cooperate with overseas research institutes, such as the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and the University of Washington's Institute for Protein Design (IPD,) and receive R&D funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).

The candidate material, developed by SK Bioscience through international cooperation, is a quick and convenient nasal spray method available in the current situation where the Covid-19 virus is rapidly spreading.

The treatment prevents the virus from penetrating a person's body by forming a protective film on the inside of the nose. If commercialized, SK Bioscience expects it to work as the first line of defense in preemptively preventing the spread of the virus before the development of vaccines or therapeutics, including face masks.

The company stressed that nasal spray-type pharmaceuticals are easy to store at room temperature and have an easy manufacturing and distribution process. It also has the advantage of being used several times as a multi-dose formulation.

For this project, BMGF will provide R&D support to IAVI, and IAVI will provide about $2.2 million of the funds it received from BMGF to SK Bioscience.

SK Bioscience will use the fund for initial process research to discover and produce candidate substances.

SK Bioscience also agreed to cooperate with IPD, an institution affiliated with the University of Washington, to develop candidate materials for this project.

The two parties previously cooperated to develop SK Bioscience's Covid-19 vaccine GBP510, using IPD's self-assembly nanoparticle design technology.

SK Bioscience has started developing and researching the initial process after receiving the technology transfer for the candidate material under research and development by IPD and plans to produce candidate materials for non-clinical and clinical use.

"If the company manages to secure a differentiated viral infection prevention treatment through this research, we expect a rapid response to the continuously evolving respiratory virus will be possible," SK Bioscience CEO Ahn Jae-yong said. "Our efforts to develop medicines that can prevent and treat viruses that threaten humanity lead to various international cooperations."

Through this, SK Bioscience is also evolving into a global company, Ahn added.

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