SEOUL -- Clinical trials to test the efficacy and safety of a recombinant COVID-19 vaccine candidate being developed by Eubiologics, a biopharmaceutical company and vaccine developer in South Korea, won state approval. It is the seventh COVID-19 vaccine candidate in a developmental state in South Korea.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said in a statement on January 21 that clinical trials for Eubiologics' vaccine candidate codenamed "Eucorvac-19" have been approved. Eucorvac-19 is a recombinant vaccine that can be produced through recombinant DNA technology.
The vaccine's surface antigen protein stimulates immune cells to form neutralizing antibodies, inducing immune responses. It uses liposomes, a drug delivery vehicle, as an immune enhancer, and surface antigen proteins are expressed on the surface of liposomes to elicit immune responses.
With Eucorvac-19, South Korea has approved clinical trials for three DNA vaccines, three recombinant vaccines and one viral vector vaccine. SK Bioscience has promised to develop safe vaccines through the protein culture and refining platform of an antigen produced with gene recombination technology. SK Bioscience has been involved in the development of recombinant vaccines.
SK Bioscience has a production partnership with AstraZeneca PLC, a Swedish-British pharmaceutical company that has developed a coronavirus vaccine. The company has also secured a deal to produce the antigen of a vaccine candidate being developed by Novavax, an American company.