- Joint trilateral cooperation for stable production and global supply of COVID-19 vaccine
- Reached a CMO agreement with AstraZeneca for the production of COVID-19 vaccine candidate in Korea

SK bioscience announced on the 21st that the company has signed a trilateral letter of intent(LOI) for cooperation with the Ministry of Health and Welfare and AstraZeneca for global supply of AZD1222, a COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

AZD1222, the world’s first candidate COVID-19 vaccine to enter a Phase III clinical trial among those announced by the WHO, is being developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University in the UK.

This LOI for cooperation includes trilateral cooperation regarding △fast and stable production and global supply of AZD1222, △expanding production capacity to respond to increasing demand, and △improvement of human health through domestic supply efforts.

SK bioscience will participate in the manufacturing of AZD1222. The Ministry of Health and Welfare, which facilitated early discussions between the two companies, plans to support cooperation in rapidly implementing vaccine production and export.

Also, cooperation between AstraZeneca and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety(KMFDS) for reviewing the introduction of AZD1222 vaccine in Korea will begin.

The LOI was signed at SK bioscience R&D Center in Pangyo by Jaeyong Ahn, CEO of SK bioscience, Neung-hoo Park, Minister of Health and Welfare; Sang-pyo Kim, CEO of AstraZeneca Korea. Simon Smith, British Ambassador to Korea and Andrew Chey, Vice Chairman of SK discovery, and Pascal Soriot, CEO of AstraZeneca Global, also attended via video conference.

In an extension of the LOI, SK bioscience signed a contract manufacturing organization (CMO) agreement with AstraZeneca to produce AZD1222.

According to the CMO agreement, SK bioscience will produce the stock solutions of AZD1222 AstraZeneca through technical cooperation between the two companies. The stock solutions will then be supplied globally by AstraZeneca.

SK bioscience, which possesses both the viral gene delivery technology and cell culture production technology applied to AZD1222, will discuss specific production plans with AstraZeneca and begin production of the stock solutions at its vaccine plant, L HOUSE in Andong.

The agreement is effective from this month to the beginning of next year, and if AstraZeneca´s vaccine development is successful, production will continue into the next year.

Pascal Soriot, CEO of AstraZeneca said, "AstraZeneca aims to establish the supply chain necessary to rapidly supply its vaccine globally to meet demand, and SK bioscience´s advanced technology and rapid mass production capability are widely recognized. Korea is one of the leading countries in managing the current pandemic situation, and we will strengthen our cooperation with Korea to provide broad and fair access to all locations where vaccines are needed.”

Jaeyong Ahn, CEO of SK bioscience said, “Based on SK bioscience’s accumulated vaccine R&D technology and manufacturing capacity, we are pleased to produce the COVID-19 vaccine of the world´s most advanced global pharmaceutical company. We will cooperate with the government´s policy of taking a two-track strategy of domestic development and imports to obtain COVID-19 vaccines in a short period.”