-Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia visits SK bioscience to establish partnership for vaccine localization
SEONGNAM, South Korea, Sept. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — SK bioscience, an innovative vaccine and biotechnology company committed to promoting human health from prevention to cure, announced that Ana Brnabić, Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia (Serbia), visited the headquarters of SK bioscience and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the company to establish a strategic partnership in vaccine development and manufacturing between the two countries.
The MOU ceremony was attended by Ana Brnabić, Prime Minister of Serbia, Nemanja Grbic, Ambassador of Serbia to South Korea, Kiren L. Naidoo, CEO of Frontier Biopharma Ltd., Jae-Woong Lee, Ambassador of Korea to Serbia, Chang won Chey, vice president of SK Discovery and Jaeyong Ahn, CEO of SK bioscience.
This is the first visit by a Serbian prime minister to South Korea in 13 years, since 2010. Furthermore, it is the current prime minister’s only visit to a biopharmaceutical and vaccine company in South Korea during her stay.
Together with the MOU, SK bioscience and Frontier Biopharma agreed to sign a one-year contract to collaborate on establishing vaccine manufacturing facilities in Serbia with the support of the Serbian government.
Under the MOU, SK bioscience will use its own vaccine R D, manufacturing and commercialization capabilities to strengthen the vaccine manufacturing environment to a globally certified level, transferring technologies and knowledge for pandemic preparedness, commercializing products, training resources humans and supporting vaccine R&D in Serbia. The newly established platform will supply Serbia and other European and emerging markets from a hub in Serbia.
The Serbian government will provide administrative support related to the project and cooperate for a possible supply of pharmaceutical products in Serbia. Frontier Biopharma will be in charge of the overall operation of the project.
Demand for vaccine localization is growing considerably in Serbia, where currently most medical devices and medicines are imported from Europe and the United States.
According to the report “Status of Cooperation Areas between Korea and Serbia” recently published by the “Korea Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA),” Serbia is actively seeking international collaborations and investing in the medical and biopharmaceutical industry.
Ana Brnabić, Prime Minister of Serbia, said: “This memorandum of understanding with SK bioscience and Frontier Biopharma is further proof of Serbia’s commitment to investments in the BIO4 areas of biomedicine, biotechnology, bioinformatics and biodiversity, as well as Serbia’s attractiveness for the best global biopharmaceutical companies. Serbia will be happy and proud to welcome SK bioscience as its hub for the region and Europe.”
Kiren L. Naidoo, CEO of Frontier Biopharma commented, “As the parent company of Zdravlje AD, one of the most established pharmaceutical manufacturers in Serbia, we are delighted to partner with the Government of Serbia and SK bioscience on this landmark project. SK bioscience has a world-class vaccine development and manufacturing platform that provides access to innovative next-generation vaccines that prevent and treat life-threatening diseases. Over the next year we will work closely with our partners to establish a manufacturing center that serves Serbia and the markets international with products of the highest quality.
Chang Won Chey, vice president of SK discovery, said: “The demand for self-sufficiency in vaccines has increased in the world due to the pandemic. This collaboration shows that SK bioscience can contribute to global health. In addition to strengthening Serbia’s vaccine industry , we will continue to promote public health in the world.”
About SK bioscience
SK bioscience is an innovative vaccine and biotechnology company, committed to vaccine development and manufacturing to enable more equitable access to vaccines in the world. Leveraging the strengths of cutting-edge technologies, SK bioscience has been dedicated to promoting human health from prevention to cure worldwide. With the cooperation of national and international governments, regulatory agencies, healthcare providers, doctors and medical experts, all SK colleagues are passionately committed to providing high-quality vaccines to those in need and better public healthcare solutions.
About Frontier Biopharma and Zdravlje AD
Frontier Biopharma is the parent company of Zdravlje AD, one of the most established pharmaceutical manufacturers in Serbia, founded in 1953. The company supplies approximately 40 markets worldwide (including the EU, UK, Asia-Pacific, South Africa and America Latina) with world-class pharmaceutical products from its EU-GMP approved facility in Leskovac, Serbia.
ContactoSK bioscience Communications TeamChanghyun Jin (jin99@sk.com)Jeannie S. Pak (J.pak@sk.com)Tae-Gyun Kim (taegyunkim@sk.com)
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