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| SK bioscience CEO Ahn Jae-yong, second from right, poses with Thailand's Permanent Secretary for Public Health Opas Karnkawinpong, left, GPO Managing Director Mingkwan Suphannaphong, second from left, and Jeon Jo-young, minister and deputy chief of mission at the Korean Embassy to Thailand, during an MOU signing event at the Thailand public health ministry's office in Nonthaburi, Tuesday. Courtesy of SK bioscience |
By Baek Byung-yeul
SK bioscience signed an agreement with a bio company run by the Thai government to build vaccine production facilities and infrastructure as part of the Korean vaccine developer's globalization strategy, according to the company, Wednesday.
The company said it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO), a state-run pharmaceutical company in Thailand, Tuesday, to establish vaccine production and development infrastructure there.
As a state-run company, GPO has been supplying medicines and vaccines to hospitals in Thailand since its establishment in 1996. Public hospitals in Thailand are mandated to use at least 60 percent of products from GPO, including medicines and medical devices.
Following the MOU, SK bioscience will sign a contract with GPO to transfer its cell culture-based influenza vaccine production technology to Thailand. After receiving the technology, GPO will work to obtain marketing authorization from the regulatory health agency. Both organizations expect that the influenza vaccine manufactured by GPO will be utilized for Thailand's national immunization program.
SK bioscience has been pursuing what it calls a "glocalization strategy," referring to the expansion of its share in the global market through partnerships with countries that have insufficient vaccine development and production infrastructure.
Under its strategy, SK bioscience plans to transfer its manufacturing capability and expand the supply of self-developed vaccines in other Southeast Asian countries in the long term.
Thailand has one of the largest pharmaceutical markets in Southeast Asia along with Indonesia and Vietnam, and the country is witnessing growing demand for medicine due to its aging population.
"The convergence of SK bioscience's technology, GPO's manufacturing capability and the administrative support from health authorities of both countries will create powerful synergy, exemplifying a successful global partnership poised to respond effectively to the next pandemic. We will continue dedicating ourselves to promoting public health in the world," SK bioscience CEO Ahn Jae-yong said.
"The MOU signing 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," GPO Managing Director Mingkwan Suphannaphong said.
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