- SK bioscience achieved expressing the COVID-19 vaccine candidate, securing recombinant proteins utilized by the genetic recombinant technology

SK bioscience announced on the 23rd that the company has succeeded in expressing a candidate of the COVID-19 vaccine and entered the full-scale animal efficacy testing.

If the efficacy is confirmed in animal tests, the vaccine candidate will enter a preclinical trial immediately to confirm its safety. A clinical trial is expected in September as soon as the preclinical trial is completed.

SK bioscience secured antigens using genetic recombination technology as vaccine candidates through various types of protein culture and purification platforms.

The vaccine candidate material secured this time was in the form of a subunit with higher safety compared to other vaccines.

SK bioscience expects to develop the COVID-19 vaccine with safety and efficacy in a short time based on the recombinant protein-based technology and experience in MERS vaccine development.

SK bioscience developed a candidate for cervical cancer vaccine with the same platform, which is currently in Phase II clinical trials. The company also applied a patent for the ‘Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS) S Protein Immunogen Composition and Manufacturing Method’ in 2017.

Jaeyong Ahn, CEO of SK bioscience, said, “Feeling the responsibility of overcoming diseases that threaten humanity, we are focusing our capabilities on this task by having our 130 R&D personnel from the R&D Center. We will establish a responding system as soon as possible in cooperation with government organizations such as the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.”