Korea’s SK bioscience has signed a technology transfer and manufacturing deal with the Colombian government which will allow the South American nation to produce the company’s chickenpox vaccine SKYVaricella.
SK’s partnership is with Colombia’s state-owned pharmaceutical company VECOL and furthers the country’s vaccine localization initiative, which is designed to strengthen its vaccine self-sufficiency and public health preparedness. Also leading the initiative is Colombia’s Ministry of Health and Social Protection and its National Health Institute (Instituto Nacional de Salud).
The collaboration also establishes a “strategic foothold” for SK’s broader expansion into Latin America, the company said in a release.
“Leveraging SK bioscience's accumulated expertise in vaccine development and manufacturing, as well as our global partnership experience, we will continue striving to contribute to future pandemic preparedness and the establishment of a sustainable vaccine supply foundation in Latin America and beyond,” SK CEO Jaeyong Ahn said in a statement.
SK will provide its technology and expertise to develop a manufacturing facility in Colombia. It also will handle product introduction, regulatory approval and production operations, it said. VECOL will oversee the establishment of the facility and its operation, government licensing, linkage to the National Immunization Program (NIP) and coordination with public health authorities.
The initiative is expected to result in total investments of $260 million over the span of a decade, according to the release.
Meanwhile, SK will explore opportunities to expand into additional vaccine products, using “preferential negotiation rights for vaccines to be introduced through the facility,” it said. Expansion opportunities will go beyond SK’s proprietary vaccines and to other shots that may be adopted by the Colombian government in the future.
Colombia's Ministry of Health and Social Protection emphasized that the collaboration goes beyond vaccine production, reflecting the country’s broader commitment to rebuilding domestic scientific, technological and industrial capabilities to respond to current and future public health challenges.
“This agreement represents a transformative step for the country and for strengthening our scientific and technological capabilities,” VECOL President Lucia Ayala said in the release. “Beyond biotechnology transfer, we are building knowledge, developing capabilities, and laying the foundation for Colombia to move forward with a long-term vision toward recovering strategic capacities in public health and health sovereignty.”
The agreement also furthers SK’s growth strategy which it laid out in 2022, with plans to expand its vaccine business to global markets.