Choi Sung-won, CEO of Kwangdong Pharmaceutical (left), and Patrick Bergstedt, Senior Vice President in charge of Moderna vaccines, are signing an agreement and taking a commemorative photo. [Photo by Kwangdong Pharmaceutical]
[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] Kwangdong Pharmaceutical announced on the 3rd that it has signed a business partnership agreement with Moderna for the 'COVID-19 bivalent vaccine partnership.'
Through this partnership, Kwangdong Pharmaceutical will be responsible for providing product information on Moderna's COVID-19 bivalent vaccine 'Spikevax bivalent' to domestic medical personnel.
Moderna's bivalent vaccine is a COVID-19 variant-targeting vaccine approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in September. Clinical trials have demonstrated broad and excellent neutralizing antibody responses against the original COVID-19 virus as well as Omicron subvariants, with a neutralizing antibody production rate 1.75 times higher compared to the existing vaccine group.
This winter, amid concerns about a twin-demic with simultaneous outbreaks of COVID-19 and influenza, health authorities are guiding bivalent vaccine administration for vulnerable groups such as the elderly and adults aged 18 and over who are four months past their second dose.
A Kwangdong Pharmaceutical official stated, "We feel a sense of responsibility as this is the first case where Moderna has partnered with a local pharmaceutical company," adding, "We will successfully complete this agreement and prove our capabilities as a long-term collaborative partner to work with Moderna's innovative products, including personalized cancer vaccines and autoimmune disease treatments."
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