Korea Scales Up Vaccine Production
One of the greatest signs of a country’s prosperity is its ability to self-sufficiently vaccinate its citizens against potentially fatal disease. Currently, Korean vaccine production is low but expanding, and according to a report in Business Korea, the Korean government plans to make Korea the fifth largest producer of vaccines by 2020.
Korea currently imports 80 percent of the countries’ vaccinations, and domestically, it manufactures only 10 out of a possible 27. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in Korea announced this number will jump to 22 within the next six years.
According to a 2013 study published by the Korean Vaccine Society (KVS), Korea was only investing a small fraction of the amount of money that multinational pharmaceutical companies invest in vaccines (61B KRW compared to 150-650B KRW).
Researchers reported, “It is crucial to make systematic and expanded supports because vaccine development is sporadically supported by multiple government departments.”
Currently that investment is expanding exponentially.
Leaders in Korean Vaccine development are SK Chemicals, Green Cross, LG Life Sciences, and Boryeong Biopharma, with Il-Yang Pharm and Chong Kun Dang Pharma also participating in vaccine development.
According to Business Korea, SK Chemical recently completed construction of a $200 million vaccine factory located in Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do, the largest of its kind in Korea. This factory is capable of vaccinating 140 million people annually.
SK Chemical recently submitted Korea’s first cell-culture influenza vaccine to the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS). The cell-culture vaccine is manufactured in half the time taken by traditional methods and is an important addition to Korea’s vaccine production.
SK Chemical is also developing a vaccine for pneumococcus to compete with Pfizer’s Prevenar, the most widely sold vaccine in the world.
Green Cross was awarded a $23M contract with Pan American Health Organization (under the WHO) and has increased the company’s exports by 50 percent in the past year. Ilyang Pharma plans to export vaccines to underdeveloped nations that do not have sufficient supplies.
The KVS report singles out vaccines as one of the most attractive emerging industries, and investments in this treatment segment are expected to yield great dividends to a growing Korean economy.