SK ready to ship out homegrown Covid jab, SK biopharm loss eases on doubled sales

[Source: SK bioscience Co.]

SKYCovione, South Korea¡¯s first homegrown Covid-19 vaccine developed by SK bioscience, is expected to be shipped for commercial use as early as late August, the company said on Thursday.

The vaccine also known as GBP510 was approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) in June and the company already rolled out 600,000 doses this week. In March, the MFDS signed an agreement to purchase 10 million doses of this vaccine. SK bioscience plans to apply for lot release approval of the products next week.

SKYCovione is a recombinant-protein vaccine based on novel two-component nanoparticles that can maximize the immune effect.

SK bioscience is also preparing for global distribution which will begin after the vaccine is approved for use by the World Health Organization (WHO) and drug safety authorities in other countries. The company also said it will start developing a vaccine that targets Sarbecovirus subgenus which include SARS-CoV-2 and its variants.

Meanwhile, another bio company under SK Group SK biopharmaceuticals Thursday reported an operating loss of 40.1 billion won ($30.76 million) for the second quarter on a consolidated basis, narrowing the loss from 65.1 billion won a year earlier. Sales more than doubled to 53.4 billion won driven by rising sales and fresh exports of its epilepsy drug cenobamate.

Net loss reduced to 45.4 billion won. The operating loss was attributed to ongoing clinical trials of cenobamate in Asia and R&D costs for the development of antiepileptic drug carisbamate.

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