SK bioscience Co., a pharmaceutical affiliate under South Korea´s SK Group, on Monday unveiled its latest strategic initiative, aimed at preparing for possible pandemics in the future and expanding into emerging sectors in the post-COVID-19 era.

The new strategy, dubbed SKBS 3.0 Reboot, focuses on broadening SK bioscience´s next-generation vaccine portfolio and new businesses as well as upgrading research and development (R&D) infrastructure, according to its officials.

The company will also improve its preparedness for future health crises and promote its "glocalization" project, which seeks to transplant R&D and manufacturing capabilities to countries lacking sufficient vaccine infrastructure, as part of efforts to become a global vaccine distribution hub.

To achieve the goal, the biopharmaceutical company increased its R&D investment to 31.75 percent of its annual sales in 2023 from 24.74 percent the previous year.

In line with the new strategy, the company broke ground to expand its vaccine manufacturing plant in Andong, about 190 kilometers southeast of Seoul, earlier this month to build new facilities for the production of its next-generation pneumococcal conjugate vaccine candidate, GBP410.

"We will continue to expand our market share of existing products including the influenza vaccine and shingles vaccine globally as well as to diversify our portfolio by extending the investment for our mid-to-long term growth," a company official said.