This photo provided by SK Bioscience Co. shows its vaccine manufacturing plant in Andong, 270 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
SEOUL, Feb. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean drug companies are upping the ante to develop the country’s first homegrown COVID-19 vaccine, possibly effective against the omicron variant, which may become a game changer in fighting the yearslong pandemic.
According to the latest data by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, a total of 11 COVID-19 vaccine candidates developed by local drug firms are under development after receiving approval for clinical trials.
Some of the drug firms have either begun developing omicron-tailored vaccines or studying whether their vaccine candidates are effective against omicron, which has become the country’s dominant strain since late last year.
Among the front-runners is leading vaccine maker SK Bioscience Co., which is currently conducting global phase three clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
GBP510, under development by an affiliate of the No. 2 family-controlled conglomerate here, SK Group, is the country’s first homegrown vaccine candidate to enter the last phase of its clinical trial.
The drug firm also said it is close to conducting clinical trials of GBP510 on young children and teenagers, and preparing clinical trials for pregnant women as well.
The vaccine maker also said it aims to begin a phase one clinical trial in April of its omicron-targeted vaccines by utilizing its GBP510 platform.
SK Bioscience further said it aims to produce an interim result of its GBP510 trials in the first quarter of the year and seek emergency approval from local drug authorities by the first half of the year.
The company eyes commercialization through the World Health Organization’s global vaccine COVAX Facility project, COVAX, after receiving the WHO’s vaccines pre-qualification by the end of the year.
This file photo, provided by leading drugmaker SK Bioscience Co. on Aug. 30, 2021, shows a patient being administered COVID-19 vaccine candidate GBP510 at a hospital in the southern port city of Busan.
Smaller local bio firm Genexine Inc. is also testing the effectiveness of its DNA-based vaccine candidate, GX-19N, against the omicron variant.
The company said it has completed a phase two clinical trial. The results, however, have not yet been released.
In an aim to deal with the omicron variant and a rising number of breakthrough infections, Genexine said it has also adjusted its GX-19N for use as a booster shot during its clinical trial conducted in Indonesia.
Another smaller player, Eubiologics Co., also received approval from local drug authorities last month to conduct a phase three clinical trial of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
The global clinical trial is currently recruiting nearly 4,000 participants.
(Yonhap)
