LG Chem has recently clinched a memorandum of understanding with Covid-19 vaccine developers to work on and produce vaccines against the pandemic.

With the MOUs, the company has taken a step near to winning a contract manufacturing organization (CMO) deal to manufacture Covid-19 vaccines, observers said.

In October, LG Chem signed an MOU with Cellid to collaborate on the development and mass-production of a Covid-19 vaccine.

Researchers conduct a test to evaluate a vaccine at the LG Chem Research Park in Daejeon. (LG Chem)
Researchers conduct a test to evaluate a vaccine at the LG Chem Research Park in Daejeon. (LG Chem)

Cellid recently obtained the regulatory approval to conduct a phase-1/2a trial on the vaccine candidate, drawing attention to whether LG Chem would ink a CMO deal for a Covid-19 vaccine.

In 1996, LG Chem was the nation’s first company to win WHO prequalification for Euvax B, a hepatitis B vaccine. The company’s vaccine-related technology used to be one of the top levels in the local vaccine market.

In 2016, LG Chem obtained the second WHO prequalification for Eupenta, a vaccine against five diseases, including diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B, and Haemophilus influenza B.

In 2019, the company received a $52.9 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a hexavalent vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough or pertussis, hepatitis B, polio, and Haemophilus influenza B.

This year, however, LG Chem has not presented any remarkable achievement in the fight against Covid-19 and seasonal flu.

However, LG Chem and Cellid reached an MOU on developing AdCLD-Cov19, a Covid-19 vaccine, in October. This month, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety gave the nod to Cellid to go ahead with its phase-1/2a study on the investigational vaccine.

In November, LG Chem agreed with Sumagen to use Sumagen’s vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) technology to develop, manufacture, and commercialize a Covid-19 vaccine.

Sumagen concluded a contract with Animal Cell Culture Substantiation Center for vaccine manufacturing, preparing for a Covid-19 vaccine's mass-production.

LG Chem said the company has been engaged in various open innovation activities since the merger with LG Life Sciences in 2017. It has vowed to contribute to fighting Covid-19 by not only developing a Covid-19 vaccine but manufacturing a vaccine through a CMO deal.

Observers said LG Chem might be aiming to strike a CMO deal, teaming up with Covid-19 vaccine developers.

To win a CMO deal for a Covid-19 vaccine, the company needs a separate production facility, they said.

LG Chem can produce only a recombinant DNA vaccine for Covid-19. To manufacture Cellid’s AdCLD-Cov19 in cell culture, the company must either expand the existing facility or change it.

Cellid’s investigational vaccine is a viral vector vaccine, made by putting the surface antigen gene of the Covid-19 virus into an adenovirus template. It has the same manufacturing method as that of AstraZeneca’s vaccine candidate.

An LG Chem official said nothing had been determined regarding any plant to expand production facility for vaccine manufacturing in a cell culture method.

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