Ahead of the influenza season, Kwangdong Pharmaceutical said on Wednesday that it would start selling GSK’s quadrivalent flu vaccine, Fluarix Tetra, in Korea.

Kwangdong has been handling the local distribution of Fluarix Tetra since last year. This year, the company plans to expand the vaccine distribution to all clinics and hospitals’ pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, internal medicine, family medicine, and orthopedic departments.

Kwangdong said it would have Fluarix Tetra ready on the market from September to ensure that Koreans get a smooth flu vaccine supply.

Generally, influenza season begins in November, and physicians recommend flu vaccinations from September, considering the time for the vaccine’s effect to emerge.

Kwangdong said Fluarix Tetra was the world’s first four-strain influenza vaccine to obtain FDA approval. It is also the nation’s first quadrivalent flu vaccine to win approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

Researchers confirmed the safety data of Fluarix Tetra in clinical trials on patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, cancer, and cerebrovascular diseases.

GSK manufactures the vaccine in Germany, France, and Belgium.