Posco International adds swine fever vaccine to its trade portfolio

[Photo provided by Posco International]

Posco International, the trading arm of South Korea’s largest steelmaker Posco, has teamed up with a local bio venture business and a Canadian biopharmaceutical company for the trade in the world’s first plant-based vaccine for Classical Swine Fever (CSF) for its portfolio diversification.

Posco International announced Monday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Korean bio venture Bioapp Inc. and Canadian biotech innovator PlantForm Corp. to collaborate on the export, contract manufacturing and technology development for the CSF vaccine.

CSF is a highly contagious viral disease that causes severe illness and death in millions of swine each year.

Under the partnership, Posco International will be in charge of exporting the CSF vaccine produced by Bioapp and PlantForm will be responsible for obtaining permits and distribution in Canada, and North and South America. The export is expected to begin as early as next year.

Bioapp is a pioneer in plant-based vaccine and antibody technology. Plant-based vaccines are safer than typical ones using animal cells as they are less likely to spread pathogens or cause mutations. In recognition of the bio venture’s growth potential, Posco International named the company as its first partner in its ‘Small-and Mid-sized Venture Business Marketing Collaboration Portal,’ a platform for supporting small and medium venture companies.

Posco International is also pushing to expand production of automotive motor cores, a key component in electric vehicles. The company announced last month it would invest about 22.9 billion won ($20.39 million) in expanding motor core manufacturing plants of its subsidiary Posco SPS, which would make it the largest motor core producer in the country.

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