Regarding the introduction of the Corona 19 vaccine by the US vaccine company Modena in Korea, analysis has shown that there is a possibility that Hanmi Pharmaceutical will be in charge of consignment production (CMO) in Korea and GC Green Cross will take over the process of working with vaccine products such as filling and packaging.
According to the pharmaceutical industry on the 5th, Hanmi Pharmaceutical is being promisingly mentioned as a pharmaceutical company that will be the CMO of the mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid)-based Corona 19 vaccine developed by Modena. Hanmi Pharmaceutical can mass-produce mRNA vaccine, the only moder or vaccine manufacturing method in Korea. As such, the focus on the possibility of domestic consignment production for domestically introduced modders or vaccines is because Modena does not have its own vaccine mass production facility. In addition, industry analysis is that the possibility of signing a CMO contract with a domestic pharmaceutical company is high, as it was inquired directly with President Moon Jae-in on the possibility of a CMO of a Korean pharmaceutical company. Modena’s Corona 19 vaccine triggers an immune response with a gene (mRNA) that induces protein formation, rather than injecting a virus protein directly like the existing vaccine. Although the side effects are small and safer than other vaccines, as it is a new technology process, there are not many pharmaceutical companies worldwide that have factories that can make vaccines in this way. Hanmi Pharmaceutical, which completed a bioplant in Pyeongtaek equipped with a 20,000 liter microbial culture and purification facility in 2018, is capable of mass production of mRNA vaccines. Even if the scope is expanded to Asia, there are no facilities capable of mass production through microbial cultivation, so analysts say that Hanmi Pharmaceutical can be used as a production base for genetic vaccines in Asia. The Pyeongtaek Bio Plant can mass-produce COVID-19 vaccines of up to 1 billion doses per year (one dose per dose).
In this regard, Hanmi Pharm is known to be negotiating CMO orders with multiple Corona 19 vaccine development pharmaceutical companies such as Modena, Bioentech (Pfizer’s German partner), and Curebag. An official at Hanmi Pharm said, “We are continuing to discuss production with several companies currently developing gene vaccines on the premise of technology transfer,” but said, “We cannot disclose specific details.”
GC Green Cross is also recognized worldwide for its vaccine CMO capabilities. Green Cross plans to charge and pack more than 500 million doses of vaccine over the next 14 months after being selected as the COVID-19 vaccine production base by the Global Private Organization for Infectious Diseases Innovation (CEPI) for a year and two months from March. As such, in the case of the Green Cross vaccine production facility, the annual production items and quantities are already scheduled, so for now, there is a prospect that it will be able to take charge of finishing the production of a vaccine specialized in filling and packaging rather than a CMO contract for the Corona 19 vaccine. An official from Green Cross said, “It is not a matter that can confirm whether the vaccine CMO contract is negotiated.” In addition to these two companies, SK Bioscience and Samsung Biologics are among the domestic companies with vaccine CMO capabilities. It is known that SK Biosciences has already signed a vaccine CMO contract with AstraZeneca and NovaVax, and Samsung Biologics has also won large-scale CMO orders from Illey and GSK, and there is no room for capacity to operate production facilities.
Some of the pharmaceutical industry is also predicting that Modena will only entrust imports and distribution to domestic pharmaceutical companies instead of CMOs. A pharmaceutical industry official diagnosed, “Technology transfer is a contract that poses a great risk for vaccine developers,” and said, “There is a possibility that Modena will choose a simple import method to protect its own profits.”
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