The First Synthetic Antigen COVID-19 Vaccine in Korea
SK Bioscience has started to ship the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine. The company announced on Feb. 9 that it began shipping pre-filled syringes of Nuvaxovid, Korea’s first synthetic antigen COVID-19 vaccine, from L House in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province. The Korean drugmaker is scheduled to ship about 2 million doses of the vaccine, which was developed by U.S. biotech company Novavax, by the end of this month.
Nuvaxovid is a synthetic antigen-type vaccine made from cell cultures of spike protein (antigen) of the coronavirus. Most of the COVID-19 vaccines developed so far are genes that make spike protein, or are produced by putting the genes into other harmless viruses. A Chinese vaccine uses the virus itself, whose toxicity was removed.
On Jan. 12, SK Bioscience received approval for Nuvaxovid in the form of a single injection from the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. It has secured the rights to produce and supply the vaccine in Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam by signing a license agreement with Novavax. In Korea, it signed a pre-purchase contract with the Korea government for 40 million doses. The company said that synthetic antigen vaccines have been used for a long time for influenza, hepatitis B, and cervical cancer, which means their safety and effectiveness have been proven.
In 2021, Novavax announced that it confirmed 90.4 percent COVID-19 prevention efficacy in a phase 3 clinical trial conducted on 29,960 people in the United States and Mexico. While messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna need to be frozen at minus 20 to 70 degrees Celsius to be transported, the Novavax vaccine can be stored at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius and a thawing process is not needed at its inoculation stage.
SK Bioscience is also promoting the commercialization of its own synthetic antigen-type COVID-19 vaccine. Currently, it is conducting a global phase 3 clinical trial of GBP510 and plans to obtain domestic approval for its use and the World Health Organization (WHO)’s certification during the first half of 2022.