“Wave2 is a project operated by CEPI with a subsidy from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) to support differentiated Covid-19 vaccine candidates,” the company said. “The project aims to develop various vaccine candidates that can respond to various global demands in terms of storage methods, the number of vaccinations, productivity, and immune response.”
According to the company, GBP510 is the first vaccine candidate to receive funding since CEPI started the Wave2 project last month and will receive a research and development expense of $10 million from CEPI to conduct phase 1 and 2 clinical trials.
"If commercialized, the company's vaccines will be supplied worldwide through the COVAX facility, participated by more than 180 countries and various international organizations, such as CEPI, GAVI, and the World Health Organization," the company said.
GBP510 is a COVID-19 vaccine candidate that SK Biosciences started developing in collaboration with the University of Washington in May with a grant from BMGF.
"This vaccine is characterized as an antigen with a structure that can maximize the immune effect," the company said. "The receptor-binding protein, which is the core of the vaccine that induces immunity toward the virus, uses SK's gene recombination technology and Washington University's self-assembly nanoparticle design technology."
SK Bioscience has confirmed the protective effect of blocking the proliferation of neutralizing antibodies and viruses induced through the vaccine's preclinical trials in rodents and primates.
Backed by such data, the company submitted an investigational new drug (IND) application for the vaccine to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Tuesday to enter clinical trials within this year.
"We are pleased to have entered into a partnership with SK Bioscience to develop GBP510," CEPI CEO Richard Hatchett said. "The vaccine is the treatment that the Wave2 project has invested in, and we believe it will become a good option in overcoming the coronavirus."
SK Bioscience CEO Ahn Jae-yong also said, "Using our differentiated vaccine platform, we are discovering several Covid-19 vaccine candidates and putting all our efforts to make the best vaccine."
Read the original article on Korea Biomedical (KBR).
