GC Pharma in talks with J&J for COVID-19 vaccine deal

입력 2021. 9. 29. 16:48 수정 2021. 9. 29. 18:01
글자크기 설정 파란원을 좌우로 움직이시면 글자크기가 변경 됩니다.

이 글자크기로 변경됩니다.

(예시) 가장 빠른 뉴스가 있고 다양한 정보, 쌍방향 소통이 숨쉬는 다음뉴스를 만나보세요. 다음뉴스는 국내외 주요이슈와 실시간 속보, 문화생활 및 다양한 분야의 뉴스를 입체적으로 전달하고 있습니다.

GC Pharma's headquarters in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province (GC Pharma)

South Korean biopharmaceutical firm GC Pharma is in talks with Janssen 

to sign a contract manufacturing deal for Janssen’s COVID-19 vaccine, according to industry sources Wednesday.

The sources said Janssen conducted a site inspection of GC Pharma’s drug manufacturing facility in Ochang, North Chungcheong Province, this month. The inspection was said to have gone without any particular issues.

GC Pharma, however, has remained silent on rumors of a potential deal with the pharmaceuticals firm wholly owned by Johnson & Johnson.

”There is nothing that has been decided yet,” the company said in a regulatory filing released Wednesday. The company added it will make a separate announcement within a month, or when related matters are fixed.

GC Pharma’s plant in Ochang is capable of producing around 1 billion doses of a COVID-19 vaccine a year. The manufacturing capacity could increase to 2 billion-3 billion doses, according to GC Pharma.

GC Pharma’s manufacturing capacity could help Janssen meet global demand for its COVID-19 vaccine, which is expected to grow further as many countries, including the US, make decisions on booster shots of Jassen‘s COVID-19 vaccine in the near future.

In Korea, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety will roll out plans for booster shots in December.

Meanwhile, if GC Pharma successfully signs the deal, it will become the third local company to sign a contract manufacturing deal to produce a COVID-19 vaccine, following SK Bioscience and Samsung Biologics.

In May, Samsung Biologics, a biopharmaceutical unit of Korea’s top conglomerate Samsung Group, signed a deal with Moderna for the fill-and-finish process of its mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.

Last year, SK bioscience signed an agreement with AstraZeneca to produce AZD1222.

By Shim Woo-hyun(ws@heraldcorp.com)

Copyright © 코리아헤럴드. 무단전재 및 재배포 금지.

이 기사에 대해 어떻게 생각하시나요?