South Korea’s three leading pharmaceutical companies have joined a state-led project on development of home-grown mRNA vaccine strong enough to tackle variants and ensure self-sufficient supplies for the entire 50 million population.

On Tuesday, Hanmi Pharmaceutical, ST Pharm and GC Pharma launched a consortium for the development of next-generation mRNA vaccine platform technology under the sponsorship of the from Korea Innovative Medicines Consortium (KIMCo), according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association (KPBMA).

The project aims to leverage the strengths of each company to secure mRNA-based vaccine technology and build a large-scale production system, paving the way for independent vaccine supply at home and potential delivery overseas. KIMCo, an industry association of 56 local pharma and biotech firms and the KPBMA will oversee and coordinate the project development.

The consortium’s immediate target is to produce 100 million doses of the vaccine by next year to have two jabs available for the entire population for protection from Covid-19. It will establish a mass-scale production system of the vaccine by 2023 and export the remainder doses. As a longer-term, the consortium will proceed with development of cancer vaccines and novel therapies based on the mRNA vaccine platform by 2025.

The three companies agreed to invest more than 700 billion won in total in clinical trials, key materials production, and facility establishment.

출처: Maeil Business

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