SK Bioscience, AstraZeneca sign deal on COVID-19 vaccine supply
AstraZeneca Korea CEO Kim Sang-pyo, left, Health Minister Park Neung-hoo, center, and SK Bioscience CEO Ahn Jae-yong hold a memorandum of understanding at a signing ceremony at the SK Bioscience laboratory Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. / Courtesy of SK BioscienceSK Bioscience signed a deal with global pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to supply a candidate material for a coronavirus vaccine, the local biotech company said Tuesday.The letter of intent (LOI) inked between the two companies and the Ministry of Health and Welfare calls for close cooperation on supplying AZD1222 for both the domestic and global markets, SK Bioscience said. The agreement, moreover, outlines the need for swift and stable production, and the building up of manufacturing capabilities to cope with a possible spike in demand and use of the material in Korea.AZD1222, which is being developed in cooperation with Oxford University, has generated keen interest across the world, as it is the first potential vaccine for COVID-19 to be given permission to conduct Phase III clinical trials. The British universit
Jul 21, 2020