EuBiologics, a Kosdaq-listed vaccine development company, said Tuesday that it has received an export license for Euvichol-S, a reformulated oral cholera vaccine, from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS).

Euvichol-S was developed in collaboration with the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) with financial support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and EuBiologics is responsible for production and supply.

Euvichol-S has been reformulated from the existing Euvichol-Plus to increase production by nearly 40 percent through improvements in the antigenic formulation and composition.

In January 2020, EuBiologics started to develop Euvichol-S when cholera vaccine experts from around the world gathered in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and EuBiologics has been conducting joint research and clinical development under the leadership of Dr. Julia Lynch, Director of IVI’s Cholera Program.

In the first half of this year, MFDS and WHO have been conducting simultaneous reviews through the export license application for Euvichol-S, and it is expected to be supplied as a public vaccine after WHO Prequalification (PQ) in March next year.

EuBiologics has already completed the manufacturing facility for Euvichol-S at its factory in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, and will be able to supply more than 15 million doses in 2024, contributing to the supply of cholera vaccine, which is currently in short supply worldwide.

"With the active support and cooperation of IVI, we have been able to successfully commercialize our cholera vaccine," said a EuBiologics official. "We would like to extend a special thank you to the IVI staff for their support."