Samsung Biologics, CEPI seal $20 mil. vaccine manufacturing partnership

Samsung Biologics CEO John Rim, right, and Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations CEO Richard Hatchett pose after signing a partnership agreement in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Samsung Biologics

Samsung Biologics is joining hands with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to strengthen vaccine manufacturing for future epidemic and pandemic threats.

The company said Wednesday it signed a partnership agreement with CEPI a day earlier to join the organization’s Vaccine Manufacturing Facilities Network, supported by up to $20 million in initial funding.

The collaboration will support the development of scalable, rapid manufacturing processes for recombinant protein vaccines, aiming to pre-position a ready-to-activate process that can be deployed quickly when a new viral threat emerges.

Samsung Biologics will work with CEPI to help ensure swift global vaccine supply in a future pandemic, with doses produced by the company to be supplied to Korea on a priority basis at CEPI’s request.

CEPI is an innovative partnership spanning public, private, philanthropic and civil organizations, formed to support vaccine development and other biologic countermeasures against epidemic and pandemic threats.

"This agreement reflects our commitment to supporting a reliable and agile vaccine supply ecosystem through continued innovation and strong collaboration. It also contributes to Korea’s ability to secure timely access to vaccines during urgent public-health situations,” Samsung Biologics CEO John Rim.

“By working with CEPI to advance recombinant protein vaccine development and ensure capacity for timely production when demand rises, we aim to broaden access to high-quality vaccines for patients around the world.”

Under the partnership, the company will be designated as CEPI’s preferred manufacturing partner for vaccines and will produce up to 50 million doses, as well as drug substance for up to 1 billion doses of drug product at CEPI’s request during a pandemic.

The two sides will conduct a simulated outbreak response exercise using a wild-type H5 influenza as a prototype pathogen. The exercise will provide insights into how quickly recombinant protein vaccines can be manufactured at scale in an outbreak scenario.

They will also collaborate to strengthen chemistry, manufacturing and controls process development for recombinant protein vaccines and to expand surge manufacturing capacity.

“Partnering with one of the world’s foremost recombinant protein contract manufacturers will help us move more rapidly from prototype sequence to production and get vaccines to the underserved global communities that need them most,” CEPI CEO Richard Hatchett said.

Samsung Biologics’ participation in the Vaccine Manufacturing Facilities Network is seen as laying the groundwork for the company to emerge as a vaccine manufacturing hub in the Asia-Pacific region. The company aims to further strengthen its leadership in global health security by contributing to the rapid global supply of vaccines in future health emergencies.