GC Pharma mentioned as Moderna's Korean manufacturing partner

By Nam Hyun-woo

Korean drug makers GC Pharma, Hanmi Pharmaceutical and ST Pharm are emerging as potential contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine thanks to the firms' capability to produce mRNA vaccines, according to industry officials, Friday.

Moderna confirmed recently that it will supply 40 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine to the Korean government starting in May.

Moderna said late Thursday it will work with regulators here to secure approval to distribute the vaccine in Korea, after already receiving approval for emergency use in the United States and Canada.

“We thank the?Republic of Korea for partnering with us to bring the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to?South Korea,” Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel was quoted as saying in a company release.

Moderna is suspected to have selected GC Pharma as its CMO partner, according to industry officials. Citing an unnamed “high-ranking government official,” local media reports also said Moderna has chosen GC Pharma as the Korean CMO for its vaccine.

Regarding the reports, GC Pharma said, “This is not an issue that we can confirm or not.” But the stance is interpreted by many that the company did not flatly refuse its chances of manufacturing Moderna's vaccine.

GC Pharma signed an agreement in October with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) on reserving its vaccine production capacity to produce CEPI-funded vaccines. CEPI said the capacity is estimated to produce more than 500 million vaccine doses.

At the time of the announcement, CEPI said GC Pharma will produce at least one of the vaccine candidates in CEPI's portfolio, which includes Moderna's vaccine.

GC Pharma's new plant in North Chungcheong Province would handle the manufacturing of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine, if the latest deal is confirmed, according to sources. Korea Investment & Securities analyst Jin Hong-gook said the company's vaccine production capacity is reaching 800 million doses a year.

Hanmi Pharmaceutical is also mentioned as a runner-up candidate for manufacturing Moderna vaccines. The company is capable of producing up to 1 billion doses of the vaccine annually at its plant in Pyeongtaek, which covers both filling and finishing processes.

ST Pharm, a subsidiary of Dong-A Socio Holdings, is a contract development organization capable of producing mRNA vaccines. Currently, the company has the capacity to make 20,000 doses and plans to construct additional facilities to raise the number to 200,000 by the end of the first quarter of this year.

Investors were betting on the stocks of these candidates.

After phone conversations last week between President Moon Jae-in and the Moderna CEO, GC Pharma's share prices spiked 14.7 percent to 406,000 won on Dec. 30 from 354,000 won on Dec. 28. Hanmi Pharmaceutical and ST Pharm also rose 11.06 percent and 11.02 percent during the same period, respectively, according to data from the Korea Exchange (KRX), the country's main bourse operator.

“In 2020, COVID-19 testing kit firms benefited the most from the pandemic, and vaccine CMOs will be the top beneficiaries in 2021 following the development of vaccines and shortages in production capacity,” Hana Financial Investment analyst Sun Min-jeong said.