SK Bioscience announced on March 11 that it will receive up to $14.2 million (16 billion won) in research and development funds from the CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation), an international civil organization, to secure vaccines to prevent the COVID-19 mutation viruses by utilizing the development platform of the Covid-19 vaccine “GBP510.”
SK also received $12.5 million (about 14.1 billion won) in additional support from CEPI for process development to expand GBP510 process to commercial production.
As a result, SK Bioscience will receive a total of $40.3 million (about 45.4 billion won) for GBP510-related development costs, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's discovery of candidate materials and non-clinical support funds and CEPI's existing clinical 1/2-phase support.
CEPI was founded under the auspices of the Gates Foundation, run by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda Gates.
SK Bioscience is also planning to continue discussions with CEPI on ways to cooperate in phase 3 clinical trials and commercialization stages with the goal of developing GBP510.
GBP510 is a candidate material for the Covid-19 vaccine that SK Bioscience co-discovered last year with the University of Washington's Antigen Design Institute. In December last year, it was selected as a support target for the "Wave 2" (next-generation Covid-19 vaccine) development project pushed by CEPI.
As a result, GBP510 will be supplied around the world through the international vaccine joint purchase project "COVAX facility" when the development is completed.
SK Bioscience will also conduct a booster shot, a vaccine that is additionally inoculated with existing vaccines, and a " multi-valent vaccine" study that prevents two or more types of viruses, if a candidate substance for the Covid-19 mutation vaccine is developed.
