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| Ahn Jae-yong, left, CEO of SK bioscience, poses with Thomas Triomphe, executive vice president of Sanofi, during the Vaccines Investor Event hosted by Sanofi in London, June 29. The two companies announced the successful completion of the Phase 2 clinical trial of a pneumococcal vaccine that they are jointly developing. Courtesy of SK bioscience |
By Baek Byung-yeul
SK bioscience successfully completed the Phase 2 clinical trial of a 21-valent pneumococcal vaccine co-developed with French biopharmaceutical company Sanofi and is on track to enter the Phase 3 trial, according to the local vaccine developer and producer, Friday.
The company said it confirmed excellent immunogenicity and safety in the Phase 2 clinical trial of GBP410, a 21-valent pneumococcal protein conjugate vaccine in infants and young children, and is ready to enter the Phase 3 trial.
"GBP410, jointly developed by SK bioscience and Sanofi, is a protein-conjugate vaccine that conjugates specific proteins to the pneumococcal coat polysaccharide that causes pneumonia and invasive disease," SK bioscience said, adding that the protein conjugate method is said to be the most effective pneumococcal vaccine ever developed.
The two companies conducted comparative trials of GBP410 and a control vaccine in 140 children aged 12-15 months and 712 infants aged 42-89 days in the United States, Canada and Honduras, and confirmed equivalent levels of immunogenicity compared to the control vaccine. In terms of safety, no serious vaccine-related adverse events were reported in the GBP410 dose group, SK bioscience said.
Following the commercialization of GBP410, SK bioscience plans to increase its market share in cooperation with Sanofi, a pediatric vaccine market leader. The pneumococcal vaccine is the largest single vaccine in the global vaccine market. It is expected to grow to 12 trillion won ($9.1 billion) in 2028 from 10 trillion in 2022, according to global pharmaceutical statistics organization Evaluate Pharma.
"The successful Phase 2 clinical trials of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine signifies that SK bioscience's technology and capability in vaccine development can deliver best-in-class vaccine candidates," Ahn Jae-yong, CEO of SK bioscience, said. "We're so proud to collaborate with an excellent partner, Sanofi, and we continue to be committed to developing and manufacturing vaccines based on the global partnership with major pharmaceutical companies."
In addition to the development of the pneumococcal vaccine, SK bioscience is working to expand its vaccine lineup through cooperation with global partners.
Recently, the company secured core technologies for mRNA vaccine development through agreements with leading domestic and overseas companies. In May, the company signed a contract with MSD to produce a new candidate for the next-generation Zaire Ebola vaccine candidate and is also working on establishing overseas R&D and vaccine production bases in countries with inadequate vaccine infrastructure.
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