-Award established in 2021 to honor the legacy of the late Vice Chairman Park MahnHoon and promote vaccine industry advancement

-Recipients selected for achievements in polio vaccine development and nonprofit initiatives to improve vaccination rates

-Award ceremony to be held on April 30, marking the 4th anniversary of Vice Chairman Park’s passing

SK bioscience and the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) today announced the recipients of the 2025 Park MahnHoon Award, widely regarded as the “Nobel Prize of the vaccine industry.” The honorees are Professor Pierre van Damme of the University of Antwerp and Dr. Ananda Sankar Bandyopadhyay of the Gates Foundation (joint recipients), as well as Ms. Luiza Helena Trajano, Chair of Grupo Mulheres do Brasil, and Ms. Svetha Janumpalli, CEO and Co-Founder of New Incentives (joint recipients). The award ceremony will take place in Seoul on April 30, 2025.

The Park MahnHoon Award, sponsored by SK bioscience and hosted by the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), was established in 2021 to honor the legacy of the late Park MahnHoon, Vice Chairman of SK bioscience and a pioneer of cell culture vaccine technology. The Award recognizes individuals and organizations that have made exceptional contributions to global vaccine research, development, and access. Winners are selected by a 12 member international committee from nominations submitted by leaders in the vaccine community.

Professor van Damme and Dr. Bandyopadhyay were recognized for their leadership in developing the novel oral poliovirus vaccine type 2 (nOPV2), which has significantly advanced protection against type 2 poliovirus worldwide. Professor van Damme, Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Vaccine Evaluation at the University of Antwerp, spearheaded nOPV2’s accelerated development under stringent containment conditions, achieving the vaccine’s historic designation as the first to receive WHO Emergency Use Listing (EUL). He also founded Vaccinopolis, a cutting?edge vaccine research facility focused on rapid clinical trial execution for pandemic preparedness.

Dr. Bandyopadhyay, Deputy Lead for Technology, Research, and Analytics in the Polio Division at the Gates Foundation, played a central role in shaping immunization policy and expanding global access to nOPV2, facilitating the administration of over 1.5 billion doses across more than 40 countries.

Ms. Trajano and Ms. Janumpalli were honored for driving substantial increases in vaccination coverage among underserved populations through innovative nonprofit initiatives. As founder of Grupo Mulheres do Brasil, Ms. Trajano led the Unidos pela Vacina campaign during the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically improving vaccine uptake in Brazil’s most vulnerable communities?and advanced healthcare professional training and HPV vaccination programs. Ms. Janumpalli, Co-Founder and CEO of New Incentives, pioneered a Conditional Cash Transfer model in Nigeria that has proven highly effective at boosting immunization rates by providing financial incentives for vaccine uptake.

Notably, the 2022 Park MahnHoon Award Award’s joint recipients Professors Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman went on to receive the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, further cementing the award’s prestige within the vaccine community.

Dr.Jerome Kim, Director General of IVI said “Through this year’s selections, the Park MahnHoon Award honors four leaders whose work has driven scientific innovation and dramatically expanded vaccine access in underserved regions,”

Jaeyong Ahn, CEO of SK bioscience said “SK bioscience remains committed to advancing vaccine innovation and ensuring reliable global supply in the spirit of the late Vice Chairman Park Park MahnHoon Award . We extend our deepest respect to all Park MahnHoon Award recipients and to everyone dedicated to safeguarding public health worldwide.”