Tag Archives: BIOPH

Business

S.Korea authorises Novavax COVID-19 vaccine, imports Pfizer pills

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A vial and sryinge are seen in front of a displayed Novavax logo in this illustration taken January 11, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

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SEOUL, Jan 12 (Reuters) – South Korea is turning to additional pharmaceutical tools as it looks to pre-empt a surge of COVID-19 omicron infections, authorising the use of Novavax Inc’s vaccine on Wednesdayand preparing to distribute the first of Pfizer’s antiviral pills.

At least 21,000 of Pfizer’s (PFE.N) antiviral pills, called Paxlovid, will arrive in South Korea on Thursday, with another 10,000 more expected to arrive by the end of the month, the health ministry said.

The pills, which were authorised for emergency use in December, will begin being used in treatments for more than 1,000 people per day starting on Friday, the ministry added

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“By priority, oral treatment is planned to begin first for patients aged 65 or older, or patients with reduced immunity at home and residential treatment centres,” a ministry spokesperson told a briefing.

Paxlovid was nearly 90% effective in preventing hospitalizations and deaths in patients at high risk of severe illness, according to data from the company’s clinical trial. Recent lab data suggests the drug retains its effectiveness against Omicron, Pfizer has said. read more

South Korea’s food and drug safety ministry, meanwhile, announced it had authorised the Novavax (NVAX.O) vaccine, which joins the ranks of previously authorised vaccines made by AstraZeneca Inc (AZN.L), Moderna Inc (AZN.L), Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson’s (JNJ.N) Janssen.

South Korean vaccine developer SK Bioscience Co Ltd (302440.KS) said it will produce the Novavax (NVAX.O) vaccine.

The two-dose, protein-based vaccine has secured authorisations from European Union regulators and the World Health Organization. read more

It has been authorised in India, Indonesia and the Philippines, where Novavax’s partner, Serum Institute of India, will supply it.

Novavax is awaiting approval in Japan, where its vaccine would be manufactured and distributed by Takeda Pharmaceutical (4502.T).

At least 84.2% of the country’s 52 million population have been fully vaccinated, while 42.5%, have received booster shots, according to health officials.

South Korea added 4,388 new COVID-19 cases as of midnight Tuesday, for a total of 674,868 cases and 6,166 deaths since the pandemic began, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported.

That number has dipped from all-time highs of nearly 8,000 daily cases in mid-December, when authorities re-imposed strict social distancing measures to try to stem the tide.

Omicron only accounts for a fraction of South Korea’s cases so far, but that percentage has risen to more than 12.5% from 4% at the end of December, health officials said on Wednesday.

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Reporting by Heekyong Yang, Joyce Lee, and Yeni Seo; Writing by Josh Smith; Editing by Clarence Fernandez

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Business

Pfizer CEO unsure on need for fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine

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A 3D printed Pfizer logo is placed near medicines from the same manufacturer in this illustration taken September 29, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

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Jan 10 (Reuters) – Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla said on Monday he was unsure about the need for a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine and that a shot targeting the highly contagious Omicron variant would be ready in March.

The comments contrasted with those made by Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) CEO Stephen Bancel, who said last week people could need another shot in the fall of 2022 as the efficacy of boosters was likely to decline over the next few months.

A huge Omicron-driven spike in COVID-19 cases has forced some nations to look to another booster dose, but early signs suggest repeat vaccination may be a hard sell as beleaguered populations enter their third pandemic year. read more

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“I don’t know if there is a need for a fourth booster, that is something that needs to be tested,” Bourla said on CNBC, ahead of Pfizer’s presentation at the J.P. Morgan healthcare conference.

Work is ongoing on a new version of COVID-19 vaccine that would be effective against Omicron and other variants, he said.

The U.S. drugmaker earlier in the day announced three deals to broaden the use of the messenger RNA technology (mRNA) that its COVID-19 vaccine was based on, including a pact worth as much as $1.35 billion with gene-editing specialist Beam Therapeutics (BEAM.O).

Pfizer has been looking to advance the development of mRNA-based vaccines and therapeutics after it led global efforts to develop a COVID-19 shot against the pandemic.

The company will also collaborate with Codex DNA Inc (DNAY.O) to leverage the biotech’s proprietary technology, which could enable more efficient development of mRNA-based vaccines, therapeutics and other biopharma products.

It deal with private biotech Acuitas Therapeutics will focus on the use of the Vancouver-based company’s lipid nanoparticle technology for developing up to ten vaccines or therapeutics.

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Reporting by Bhanvi Satija, Manojna Maddipatla and Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath and Aditya Soni

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World

WHO sees more evidence that Omicron causes milder symptoms

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  • WHO sees some ‘decoupling’ of COVID-19 cases and deaths
  • Raising global vaccine rates will reduce Omicron’s impact
  • Calls for global coordination on vaccine development

GENEVA, Jan 4 (Reuters) – More evidence is emerging that the Omicron coronavirus variant is affecting the upper respiratory tract, causing milder symptoms than previous variants and resulting in a “decoupling” in some places between soaring case numbers and low death rates, a World Health Organization official said on Tuesday.

“We are seeing more and more studies pointing out that Omicron is infecting the upper part of the body. Unlike other ones, the lungs who would be causing severe pneumonia,” WHO Incident Manager Abdi Mahamud told Geneva-based journalists.

“It can be a good news, but we really require more studies to prove that.”

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Since the heavily mutated variant was first detected in November, WHO data shows it has spread quickly and emerged in at least 128 countries, presenting dilemmas for many nations and people seeking to reboot their economies and lives after nearly two years of COVID-related disruptions.

However, while case numbers have surged to all-time records, the hospitalisation and death rates are often lower than at other phases in the pandemic.

“What we are seeing now is….the decoupling between the cases and the deaths,” he said.

His remarks on the reduced risks of severe disease chime with other data, including a study from South Africa, which was one of the first countries where Omicron was detected.

However, Mahamud also sounded a note of caution, calling South Africa an “outlier” since it has a young population, among other factors.

And he warned that Omicron’s high transmissibility meant it would become dominant within weeks in many places, posing a threat to medical systems in countries where a high proportion of the population remains unvaccinated.

VACCINATION, NOT VACCINES, ARE THE CHALLENGE

While Omicron seemed to be slipping past antibodies, evidence was emerging that COVID-19 vaccines still provided some protection, by eliciting a second pillar of the immune response from T-cells, Mahamud said.

“Our prediction is protection against severe hospitalization and death (from Omicron) will be maintained,” he said, saying this also applied to vaccines developed by Sinopharm and Sinovac that are used in China, where Omicron cases remain very low.

“The challenge has not been the vaccine but the vaccination and reaching those vulnerable populations.”

Asked about whether an Omicron-specific vaccine was needed, Mahamud said it was too early to say but voiced doubts and stressed that the decision required global coordination and should not be left to manufacturers to decide alone.

“You may go ahead with Omicron and put all your eggs in that basket and a new variant that is more transmissible or more immune-evasive may appear,” he said, adding that a WHO technical group had held recent meetings on vaccine composition.

The best way to reduce the impact of the variant would be to meet the WHO’s goal of vaccinating 70% of the population in each country by July, rather than offer third and fourth doses in some countries, he said.

As case numbers due to Omicron have soared, some countries, including the United States, have cut down isolation or quarantine periods in a bid to allow asymptomatic people to return to work or school.

Mahamud said that leaders should decide based on the strength of the local epidemic, saying Western countries with very high case numbers might consider trimming isolation periods to keep basic services functioning.

However, places that have largely shut it out would do better to maintain the full 14-day quarantine period.

“If your numbers are very small, you better be invested in keeping that number very, very low.”

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Reporting by Emma Farge and Mrinalika Roy in Bangalore; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Alex Richardson

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Business

Sinovac COVID-19 shot with Pfizer booster less effective against Omicron – study

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The Sinovac vaccine is pictured at StarMed Specialist Centre, a private medical centre, in Singapore July 13, 2021. REUTERS/Caroline Chia

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Dec 31 (Reuters) – Sinovac’s two-dose COVID-19 vaccine followed by a booster Pfizer-BioNTech shot showed a lower immune response against the Omicron variant compared with other strains, according to a study by researchers.

The study, which has not been peer-reviewed yet, was conducted by researchers from Yale University, the Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Health and other institutions.

The Sinovac (SVA.O) two-dose regimen along with the Pfizer (PFE.N) shot produced an antibody response similar to a two-dose mRNA vaccine, according to the study. Antibody levels against Omicron were 6.3-fold lower when compared with the ancestral variant and 2.7-fold lower when compared with Delta.

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Akiko Iwasaki, one of the authors of the study, said on Twitter that CoronaVac recipients may need two additional booster doses to achieve protective levels needed against Omicron.

The two-dose Sinovac vaccine alone did not show any detectable neutralization against Omicron, according to the study that analysed plasma samples from 101 participants in the Dominican Republic.

A study from Hong Kong last week said that even three doses of the Sinovac vaccine did not produce enough antibody response against Omicron and that it had to be boosted by a Pfizer-BioNTech shot to achieve “protective levels.” read more

Sinovac’s CoronaVac and state-owned Sinopharm’s BBIBP-CorV vaccine are the two most-used vaccines in China and the leading COVID-19 shots exported by the country. Hong Kong has been using the Sinovac and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines.

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Reporting by Jose Joseph and Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.

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Business

Samsung BioLogics says report on Biogen deal talks untrue

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Dec 29 (Reuters) – Samsung BioLogics (207940.KS) on Thursday denied a media report that said the South Korean firm was in talks to buy U.S. drugmaker Biogen Inc (BIIB.O).

Korea Economic Daily reported on Wednesday, citing investment banking sources, that Biogen had approached Samsung to buy its shares, which could be valued at more than $42 billion. Biogen is valued at $34.67 billion, according to Refinitiv data.

Samsung BioLogics, the biotech unit of Samsung Group, said in a regulatory filing that the report was “not true,” without giving any more details.

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Biogen said it does not comment on market rumors or speculation. Its stock closed up 9.5% on Wednesday.

Any such deal would be the biggest overseas acquisition ever by a South Korean company. The largest so far was in 2016, when Samsung Electronics bought auto electronics maker Harman International Industries in an $8 billion deal. (https://reut.rs/3qrRv32)

Samsung Group had said earlier this year it will invest 240 trillion won ($206 billion) in the next three years to expand its footprint in biopharmaceuticals, artificial intelligence, semiconductors and robotics in the post-pandemic era. read more

In June, Biogen’s controversial Alzheimer’s drug won U.S. regulatory approval, becoming the first new treatment for the memory-robbing disease in nearly 20 years, despite an outside advisory panel’s view that the company had not proven the treatment’s clinical benefits.

Biogen has been betting on the drug, Aduhelm, to buffer a hit as its main revenue drivers such as multiple sclerosis treatment Tecfidera and muscle disease treatment Spinraza face rising competition.

But U.S. sales from Aduhelm have been slower than expected as hospitals complained that the drug’s high cost was not worth its benefits. The company cut its price by about half to $28,200 this month.

Biogen, which makes drugs for neurological diseases, currently has more than 30 new drugs in its pipeline.

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Reporting by Dania Nadeem in Bengaluru and Joyce Lee in Seoul; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli

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Business

Sanofi ditches mRNA COVID-19 vaccine after rivals’ success

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  • To focus on more conventional COVID-19 vaccine with GSK
  • To pursue mRNA technology in influenza, other vaccines
  • Started testing mRNA flu shot in humans in June

PARIS, Sept 28 (Reuters) – Sanofi (SASY.PA) is dropping plans for its own mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine because of the dominance achieved by BioNTech-Pfizer and Moderna in using the technology to fight the pandemic, the company said on Tuesday.

The move highlights the challenges of competing in particular with pioneer BioNTech (22UAy.DE), which rose from obscurity through its alliance with pharma major Pfizer (PFE.N) last year. They have delivered close to 1.5 billion doses so far to become the Western world’s largest COVID-19 vaccine maker.

French healthcare group Sanofi will instead focus on efforts with British partner GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L) to bring another COVID-19 vaccine candidate to market based on the more conventional protein-based approach, where mass trials are ongoing. read more

The decision to drop clinical development of a shot based on mRNA, or messenger RNA, acquired as part of its takeover of Translate Bio , came despite positive Phase I/II study interim results announced on Tuesday, where participants’ blood readings showed a strong immune reaction.

But Sanofi said the read-out encouraged it only to pursue the technology as a potential vaccine against influenza and other diseases, giving up on the area of COVID-19 because of the strong market presence of the two approved mRNA shots.

“The results are extremely important as they show us that the platform we acquired works,” Thomas Triomphe, head of the Sanofi Pasteur vaccines division, told journalists. He said kicking off final Phase III trials now made no sense.

“Would it, responsibly, be the best use of this wealth of science afforded by mRNA vaccines to make a COVID-19 vaccine and try and bring another mRNA COVID-19 vaccine to people who already today may not want an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine? Clearly not,” Triomphe said.

He also dismissed the prospect for annual repeat shots, which has been intensely debated by researchers and pharmaceutical executives, with clear trial results on the need for yearly boosters still to come.

U.S. regulators cleared a third Pfizer-BioNTech shot half a year after the initial two-shot course for some at-risk groups and Moderna aims to follow suit.

Triomphe said that given evidence of virus-fighting antibodies surging after a third shot, a recurring market was out of the question. “With a fourth dose you’d have extremely high antibodies and you absolutely would not need an annual COVID-19 vaccine.” he added.

He said that by May or June 2022, some 24 billion doses of COVID-19 jabs made by different manufacturers would already have been delivered.

Sanofi’s shares were 0.1% higher 82.2 euros by 1136 GMT, outperforming a 1.21% decline in the STOXX Europe 600 Health Care (.SXDP).

“The decision to end RNA looks to be interpreted as positive since they will save development costs and concentrate on other products and ventures,” said Ion-Marc Valahu, a fund manager at Geneva-based investment firm Clairinvest.

But Sanofi’s comparatively slow progress in developing a COVID-19 vaccine – its project with GSK was delayed late last year – has been a blow to its prestige and lamented by some French politicians. read more

The company said it started testing an mRNA shot against seasonal influenza in humans in June and would launch follow-on clinical studies next year.

FLU COMPETITION

The development of RNA flu shots is already shaping up to be a tight race as drugmakers hope they can more quickly adjust the vaccine to ever-changing strains in circulation. Unlike the highly mutant flu virus, the coronavirus reduces genetic copying errors when replicating in a host organism.

Pfizer said this week it had started testing an mRNA flu vaccine. Moderna (MRNA.O) has several influenza vaccine candidates in development, including combinations that include a COVID-19 booster. read more

Established influenza vaccine supplier Seqirus, part of Australia’s CSL (CSL.AX), for instance, is working on next-generation low-dose RNA flu shots, known as self-amplifying RNA.

Companies including Novavax are also working on novel flu shots using new technology beyond mRNA. read more

Sanofi reported 2.5 billion euros ($2.9 billion) in sales from flu vaccines in 2020, the largest of its vaccine business, which recorded total sales of 5.9 billion euros.

The mRNA COVID-19 vaccines trick the human body into producing proteins known as antigens that are found on the surface of the coronavirus that causes the disease. That primes the immune system to quell future infections.

Under the more traditional protein-based vaccine approach that Sanofi will now focus on, the antigen is bioengineered in labs and combined with an efficacy-boosting ingredient known as an adjuvant, provided by GSK.

Triomphe said the European Union and Britain had ordered 75 million doses of this vaccine, banking on future regulatory approval.

German biotech firm CureVac (5CV.DE) earlier this month also acknowledged rivals’ dominance when it cancelled some of the contract manufacturing deals for its experimental mRNA COVID-19 vaccine with two prospective partners. read more

CureVac’s product is under review by the EU’s drugs regulator, with an uncertain outcome after disappointing trial results.

Sanofi shares lag rivals
Moderna’s market cap overtakes Sanofi

($1 = 0.8537 euros)

Reporting by Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt, Sarah White and Sudip Kar-Gupta in Paris
Editing by Louise Heavens and Mark Potter

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Business

BioNTech to seek approval soon for vaccine for 5-11 year olds-Spiegel

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Syringes are seen in front of a displayed Biontech logo in this illustration taken November 10, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

FRANKFURT, Sept 10 (Reuters) – BioNTech (22UAy.DE) is set to request approval across the globe to use its COVID-19 vaccine in children as young as five over the next few weeks and preparations for a launch are on track, the biotech firm’s two top executives told Der Spiegel.

“Already over the next few weeks we will file the results of our trial in five to 11 year olds with regulators across the world and will request approval of the vaccine in this age group, also here in Europe,” Chief Medical Officer Oezlem Tuereci told the news weekly.

The confident statements underscore the lead that BioNTech, which collaborates with Pfizer (PFE.N), holds in the race to win broad approval to vaccinate children below the age of 12 in Western countries.

BioNTech has said it expected to file its regulatory dossier on the five to 11 year olds in September. It has also laid out plans to seek approval in children aged 6 months to 2 years later this year.

Tuereci also told Spiegel that final production steps were being adjusted to bottle a lower-dose pediatric version of its established Comirnaty vaccine. It is currently approved for adults and youngsters at least 12 years of age.

The raw trial data was now being prepared for a regulatory filing and “things are looking good, everything is going according to plan”, Chief Executive Ugur Sahin told Der Spiegel.

Runner-up Moderna (MRNA.O) said on Thursday a trial testing its shot in children between six and 11 years was now fully enrolled and that it was working on the best dosage in another study involving infants as young as six months.

China has been ahead in lowering the age limit of its immunisation campaign. The country’s health authorities in June approved emergency use of Sinovac’s (SVA.O) vaccine in children as young as three years. read more

Chile, which has relied heavily on Sinovac’s shot, this month approved use of the vaccine in children over 6 years of age. read more

Israel’s health ministry said in July that children as young as five can get the Pfizer-BioNTech shot if they suffer from conditions that make them particularly vulnerable to COVID-19.

Reporting by Ludwig Burger, editing by Emma Thomasson, Douglas Busvine, Elaine Hardcastle

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Technology

Brazil health regulator suspends use of 12 mln Sinovac vaccine shots

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An employee handles vials containing CoronaVac, Sinovac Biotech’s vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at Butantan biomedical center in Sao Paulo, Brazil January 12, 2021. REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli

SAO PAULO, Sept 4 (Reuters) – Brazil’s federal health regulator Anvisa on Saturday suspended the use of over 12 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd (SVA.O) that were produced in an unauthorized plant, it said in a statement.

Anvisa said it was alerted on Friday by Sao Paulo’s Butantan institute, a biomedical center that has partnered with Sinovac to locally fill and finish the vaccines, that 25 batches, or 12.1 million doses, sent to Brazil had been made in the plant.

“The manufacturing unit … was not inspected and was not approved by Anvisa in the authorization of emergency use of the mentioned vaccine,” the regulator said. The ban was “a precautionary measure to avoid exposing the population to possible imminent risk,” it added.

Butantan also told Anvisa that another 17 batches, totaling 9 million doses, had been produced in the same plant, and were on their way to Brazil, the regulator said.

During the 90-day ban, Anvisa will seek to inspect the plant, and find out more about the security of the manufacturing process, it said.

During Brazil’s vaccine rollout earlier this year, the vast majority of administered vaccines were from Sinovac. More shots from other manufacturers have since come online.

Brazil on Saturday reported 21,804 new coronavirus cases, and 692 COVID-19 deaths.

Reporting by Gabriel Stargardter; Editing by Richard Chang

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Health

Singapore not counting Sinovac shots in COVID-19 vaccination tally

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People queue to enquire about Sinovac vaccine at a clinic, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Singapore June 18, 2021. REUTERS/Chen Lin

SINGAPORE, July 7 (Reuters) – Singapore has excluded those who received Sinovac Biotech’s (SVA.O) shots from its national COVID-19 vaccination count, according to the city-state’s health ministry.

“The national vaccination numbers reflect only those vaccinated under the national vaccination programme,” the ministry said in an emailed statement on Wednesday.

Currently, this only includes those vaccinated with the Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) and Pfizer-BioNTech/Cominarty (PFE.N), vaccines, it said.

Sinovac’s CoronaVac shot is not part of Singapore’s national vaccination programme and the city-state has said it is still awaiting critical data from the company.

It has, however, allowed the usage of the vaccine by private healthcare institutions under a special access route, following an emergency use approval by the World Health Organization (WHO). Selected private clinics can draw on the country’s current stock of 200,000 CoronaVac doses. read more

About 3.7 million people have received at least one dose of the Pfizer or Moderna’s vaccines, covering about 65% of the population, and nearly 2.2 million have completed the regimen.

Singapore has set a target for two-thirds of its people to complete the two-dose regimen by around Aug. 9.

Both have shown efficacy rates of well over 90% against symptomatic disease in clinical trials, compared with trials for Sinovac that shown results from as low as 51% to about 84%. Sinovac did not respond to a request for comment on its efficacy rates earlier this week.

Kenneth Mak, Singapore’s director of medical services, said last month evidence from other countries showed people who had taken the Sinovac vaccine were still getting infected.

“There is a significant risk of vaccine breakthrough,” he said.

Just over 17,000 people in Singapore have received one dose of CoronaVac as of July 3. These records will be captured in a national immunisation registry.

Recipients of the Sinovac vaccine are also not exempt from COVID-19 tests required before attending certain events or entering some venues. Those who have completed the full vaccination regimen with Moderna or Pfizer are exempt from such pre-event testing.

“COVID-19 vaccines that are not part of our national vaccination programme may not have documented sufficient data on their protection against COVID-19 infection, especially against the Delta variant that is currently circulating,” the health ministry said last week.

Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan in Singapore
Editing by Ed Davies

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Health

EXCLUSIVE S.Korea in talks with mRNA vaccine makers to make up to 1 bln doses -govt official

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South Korean senior citizens receive their first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at a vaccination centre in Seoul, South Korea April 1, 2021. Chung Sung-Jun/Pool via REUTERS

SEOUL, July 5 (Reuters) – South Korea is in talks with mRNA vaccine makers including Pfizer (PFE.N) and Moderna (MRNA.O) to produce COVID-19 shots in the country and is ready to offer the capacity to make up to 1 billion doses immediately, a senior government official said.

The plan, if agreed, would help ease tight global supply of COVID-19 vaccines, particularly in Asia which lags North America and Europe in vaccine rollouts, and put South Korea a step closer to its ambition to become a major vaccine manufacturing centre.

South Korea already has deals to locally produce three coronavirus vaccines developed by AstraZeneca (AZN.L)/Oxford University, Novavax (NVAX.O), and Russia. It also has a vaccine bottling and packaging deal with Moderna.

“We’ve been holding frequent talks with big pharmaceutical companies to produce mRNA vaccines,” Lee Kang-ho, director general for the global vaccine hub committee under South Korea’s health ministry, told Reuters in an interview.

“There are only a few mRNA vaccine developers – Pfizer, Moderna, CureVac and BioNTech. Thus there’s a limit to how much they can produce to meet global demand… South Korea is keen to help by offering its facilities and skilled human resources,” Lee said.

It’s not immediately clear how advanced these talks are and whether and when a deal will be agreed.

BioNTech (22UAy.DE) declined to comment, Moderna and CureVac (5CV.DE) did not reply to Reuters’ requests for comments.

A Pfizer spokesperson said the company is making efforts to enhance its COVID-19 vaccine supply chain but added “we do not have anything specific to announce at this time.”

Lee declined to name local vaccine makers which have the capacity to produce mRNA vaccines immediately, but a government source said they include Hanmi Pharmaceuticals Co Ltd (128940.KS) and Quratis Co Ltd.

Hanmi confirmed that it has a big capacity reserved for Sanofi’s (SASY.PA) diabetes drug and it can be used for COVID-19 vaccine production as the Sanofi project has stalled.

“We happen to have this facility available right now because our clinical trial (with Sanofi) was discontinued in the middle of last year,” Kim Soo-jin, senior vice president of Hanmi, told Reuters.

“It’s very timely that we have a fully ready, GMP, state-of-the-art facility available,” she said, referring to good manufacturing practice.

Quratis, which makes a tuberculosis vaccine, said its new factory built last year can now be used for mRNA vaccine production.

Shares in Hanmi erased early losses and rose nearly 4% on Monday after the Reuters report.

COLLABORATION WITH WHO

South Korea has stepped up its effort to produce more vaccines since U.S. President Joe Biden in May agreed with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on a comprehensive partnership on COVID-19 vaccines. read more

Lee said his team is having frequent video conference calls with the vaccine makers and the World Health Organization (WHO).

WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told Reuters the organisation is “talking with South Korea and other countries,” but did not elaborate.

The WHO said last month it will set up a hub in South Africa to manufacture mRNA vaccines within 9-12 months that will give companies from poor and middle-income countries the know-how and licenses to produce COVID-19 vaccines. read more

Lee said mRNA vaccine makers may be reluctant to share their technology, but they can take advantage of South Korea’s raw material suppliers to address a global shortage of such ingredients as lipids, nucleotides and capping reagents.

“They’re capable of manufacturing and developing such raw materials to help vaccine makers… and the South Korean government is committed to provide all necessary support including financial and administrative aid.”

Lee said the country also has a capacity for at least another 500 million doses of fill-and-finish vaccines apart from the deal Moderna announced with Samsung BioLogics (207940.KS) in May.

Reporting by Sangmi Cha in Seoul; Additional reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva, Michael Erman in New York and Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Raju Gopalakrishnan

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