SK bioscience to invest $83 mn in U.S. vaccine developer Novavax

Ahn Jae-yong, CEO of SK bioscience, left, and John Jacobs, president and chief executive officer of Novavax, take a commemorative photo after signing an agreement on Aug. 9. [Courtesy of SK bioscience]

South Korea’s SK bioscience Co. will invest 110 billion won ($83.6 million) to acquire 6.5 million shares of U.S. vaccine developer Novavax Inc., the company said on Wednesday.

Under a stock purchase agreement, SK bioscience will buy 6.5 million shares in Novavax for 110 billion won.

“SK bioscience’s strategic equity investment comes at a time when the two companies aim to transition from a CMO/CDMO partnership formed during the pandemic to a long-term synergistic relationship in the endemic era,” the company said in a release.

CMO stands for contract manufacturing organization and CDMO contract development and manufacturing organization.

The two companies also extended the current license agreement, adding Novavax’s updated Covid-19 vaccine that is currently under development for annual vaccination, SK bioscience said.

Under the extension, SK bioscience will provide in bulk the drug substance (DS) and immune enhancer, Matrix M, for Novavax’s new Covid variant vaccine. The company will manufacture them in a pre-filled syringe formulation at its facility.

SK bioscience will hold exclusive supply and commercialized production rights in Korea and non-exclusive rights in Thailand and Vietnam.

“This agreement is grounded in a productive multiyear relationship through which the companies have come to know each other’s strengths well,” said John Jacobs, president and chief executive officer of Novavax. “SK bioscience’s significant decision to invest in Novavax reflects their confidence in our scientific and commercial expertise, and the potential to increase value of both companies and their stakeholders.”

Ahn Jae-yong, CEO of SK bioscience, also added that “we believe that the strategic equity investment and the continuous cooperation between SK bioscience and Novavax will create powerful synergy.”