SK Bioscience announced on May 29 that it has finalized a funding plan based on the National Growth Fund during its regular board meeting.
This decision follows the company's selection as a recipient of fund support by the Fund Management Review Committee under the Financial Services Commission the previous day. This marks the first time a domestic drug and vaccine developer has received support from the National Growth Fund.
The funding, totaling 300 billion won, will be provided in the form of ultra-low interest long-term loans. The company plans to utilize these funds for research and development (R&D) and commercialization preparations for its 21-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, GBP410, which is currently undergoing global Phase 3 clinical trials, as well as to enhance its production capabilities.
GBP410 is an advanced pneumococcal vaccine candidate developed in collaboration with Sanofi, featuring an expanded preventive range compared to existing vaccines. The company aims to secure top-line results by the second half of next year.
The National Growth Fund is a public-private policy finance program established to foster advanced industries such as artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, and biotechnology. The government selects support recipients focusing on large-scale projects with global competitiveness, including bio-development projects in Phase 3 clinical trials.
SK Bioscience continues to supply domestically developed vaccines, including flu and varicella vaccines, through the National Immunization Program (NIP), contributing to the establishment of a domestic infectious disease prevention system. The company plans to expand its pipeline for infectious disease response, including a patch-based flu vaccine, RSV preventive antibody drugs, and an mRNA vaccine platform.
To support these initiatives, the company relocated its headquarters and research organization to the Songdo Global R&D Center in January. It has established an integrated system encompassing R&D, process development (PD), quality, and business development, aiming to enhance efficiency throughout the entire cycle from research to commercialization and strengthen global collaboration and next-generation pipeline development capabilities.
An Jae-yong, CEO of SK Bioscience, stated, "We will continue to strengthen our core pipeline development and production capabilities to enhance Korea's vaccine sovereignty and secure future infectious disease response capabilities."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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