Under the MOU, both firms will improve Thailand’s capacity for vaccine development and production and will also work closely together in the mid-to long-term to help the country become a vaccination hub in Southeast Asia
Officials at the MOU signing ceremony. (Credit: PR Newswire/SK bioscience)
South Korean biotechnology company SK bioscience has inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Thailand’s Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO) to bolster the vaccine infrastructure in Thailand.
The objective of the MOU is for strengthening the responding system against new pandemics. It will also localise the vaccine manufacturing abilities of Thailand, which will extend to the larger Southeast Asia region also.
Established in 1966, GPO is a state-owned pharmaceutical enterprise that supplies medicines and vaccines in Thailand.
Through the MOU, both firms will improve the country’s capacity for vaccine development and production. They will also work closely together in the mid-to long-term to help Thailand become a vaccination hub in Southeast Asia.
During the first phase of the MOU, both parties plan to enter into an agreement to transfer the technology for making drug products used in the local production of SK bioscience’s cell culture-based influenza vaccine at the GPO-owned plant.
Upon completion of the technology transfer, GPO will get the drug material for the influenza vaccine from SK bioscience, and plans to request marketing authorisation from the regulatory health body.
Both organisations anticipate that Thailand’s national immunisation program will use the influenza vaccine produced by the GPO.
GPO managing director Mingkwan Suphannaphong said: “A signing MOU ceremony between GPO and SK bioscience today substantially contributes to a collaboration on manufacturing the cell-culture based influenza vaccine locally in Thailand, namely the trivalent and quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccines.
“The drug substance bulk produced by SK will be initially delivered to GPO prior to making the drug products. This collaboration is regarded as part of the technology transfer and license agreement that will be planned to sign shortly after the execution of the MOU is complete.”
The long-term plans for SK Bioscience include expanding the supply of self-developed vaccines in other Southeast Asian nations and transferring its production capabilities.
The biotechnology company will also work with GPO to further advance public health in Southeast Asia.
SK bioscience CEO Jaeyong Ahn said: “The convergence of SK bioscience’s technology, GPO’s manufacturing capability, and the administrative support from health authorities from both countries will form a powerful synergy, exemplifying a successful global partnership poised to effectively respond to the next pandemic.”