[메디칼업저버 손형민 기자] SK Bioscience offered a partnership to rapidly build R&D and production centers in foreign countries without adequate vaccine infrastructure.
Ahn Jae-yong, CEO of SK Bioscience, attended the ‘Riyadh 2023 Global Medical Biotechnology Summit’ held in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, on the 25th (local time) and gave a session presentation under the theme ‘Preparing for the next Pandemic through a Global Partnership’.
The Riyadh Summit, first held in September 2021 and celebrating its second year this year, is a national bio event where major bio industry officials from the US and Europe gather to share R&D prospects and industry investment strategies bio in the future. SK Bioscience was the only Korean company to participate as a speaker at this event attended by Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca.
Through the presentation, CEO Ahn Jae-yong shared the success experience of Korea’s first COVID-19 vaccine, emphasized the importance of global partnership in health security, and SK bioscience vaccine that can be transplanted to the Middle East in the future Collaboration based on research and development and production capabilities offered.
President Ahn said, “Based on the experience and knowledge gathered in research and development and production, SK bioscience can transplant vaccine manufacturing facilities, technology and products to countries in need.” It is possible to build a bilateral partnership if human resources and in general. drug development and manufacture are supported.”
Through such a partnership, when vaccine manufacturing facilities and technology are transplanted to countries with insufficient infrastructure, the necessary vaccines are stably supplied in the region during peacetime, and converted into fast to pandemic vaccine production system during pandemic time. possible.
Next, President Ahn said, “It is time to think about self-sufficiency in vaccines from a national security perspective, as we have experienced the human casualties, economic losses, and national systemic crises that a pandemic can cause.” It requires a strong will and commitment from the government, and it is only possible when there is reasonable compensation for the organizations involved.”
In addition, the vaccine development technology in the region and the production facilities established together with SK Bioscience will help the growth of the bio industry in the country in the medium to long term and complete the value chain to equip the a country with its own vaccine. Commercialization capabilities The fact that it contributes to the health security of the surrounding regions beyond the unit is also a reason to pay attention to building partnerships, he added.
On the other hand, SK bioscience conducts a ‘Glocalization’ business based on its own research and development capabilities, global partnerships established based on them, and the manufacturing capabilities of Andong Plant, which has been featured as a hub for production a vaccine in the COVID- 19 in progress in earnest.
The company expects that the glocalization project will contribute to solving the vaccine supply imbalance problem in countries with insufficient technology and infrastructure, and moreover, create social and economic values by pioneering new markets for self-developed vaccines.
Currently, detailed discussions are underway in various countries, including Saudi Arabia, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, and there are plans to expand target countries in succession.
