SK bioscience Announces the Largest Investment Ever to Establish Songdo Global Research & Process Development Center

• The additional investment for the ‘R&PD Center’ was confirmed by the board of directors committee with a total of 261 million USD
• SK bioscience plans to establish a vaccine-biopharmaceutical hub, organizing a global cooperative model against new pandemics

SEONGNAM, South Korea, Feb. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — SK bioscience, a global innovative vaccine and biotech company committed to promoting human health from prevention to cure across the globe, announced that the company’s board of directors has officially decided to initiate the establishment of the ‘Songdo Global Research & Process Development Center (The R&PD Center).’

The establishment of the R&PD Center will be proceeded on a 30,413.8㎡ site in Songdo, Republic of Korea with a total investment of 261 million USD(325.7 billion KRW), including the previous investment of 33 million USD(41.9 billion KRW). 

Once the establishment of the R&PD Center is completed in the first half of 2025, the headquarters and the research and development (R&D) center currently located in Pangyo will move to Songdo area.

SK bioscience aims to secure the newest technologies covering the entire process from basic research to commercial manufacturing and to ultimately create a global vaccine ecosystem to preemptively respond to new infectious diseases through the establishment.

To achieve the goal, SK bioscience plans to operate the ‘Open Lab’ in the R&PD Center to strengthen a global vaccine network. The Open Lab will be utilized as a joint research space for international organizations and biopharmaceutical companies around the world to develop new vaccines together with SK bioscience.

Furthermore, collaborations such as manpower training for other countries which do not have enough research capacities but high demand for vaccine development, are planned in the Open Lab. The operation of the Open Lab will help promoting the ‘Glocalization’ business, a project which transfers SK bioscience’s R&D and production capabilities to countries with high demand for vaccines but insufficient human and physical infrastructure, and one of the main future strategies of SK bioscience.

SK bioscience will also secure the advanced BSL-3 (Biological Safety Level) research facilities to further strengthen its own vaccine pipeline.

BSL is a rating standard for biological facilities capable of conducting microbial research under high biohazard levels. BSL-3 level research facilities are required for development of vaccines against new infectious diseases.

In addition, SK bioscience plans to operate a pilot plant to strengthen global competitiveness in the C(D)MO market. A pilot plant, a small-scale test facility utilized before commercializing a new method or a product, will be established at the R&PD. The plant will be designed as a cGMP-level production facility, the highest demanding standard worldwide.

The plant will also be utilized for new tasks under the main growth strategies of SK bioscience such as CGT (Cell and Gene Therapy) mRNA, and viral vectors platforms research. As SK bioscience is planning a future strategy to advance to new markets through JV (Joint Venture) and M&A, the pilot plant is expected to play a key role in leading cooperation and investment with other biopharmaceutical companies.

Since the plant can produce samples for non-clinical, clinical, and commercial-scale, SK bioscience will accelerate expanding its new pipeline through synergy with ‘L-HOUSE’, a vaccine manufacturing facility located in Andong area.

Jaeyong Ahn, CEO of SK bioscience said, "The establishment of the R&PD Center will be a crucial milestone for us to advance the entire vaccine and biopharmaceutical industry beyond Korea to the world. We will ultimately organize the ‘Dream Team’ of the global health network to protect a safe tomorrow for people around the world."

About SK bioscience

SK bioscience is a global innovative vaccine and biotech company, standing committed to global pandemic preparedness in vaccine development and manufacturing to create more equitable access to vaccines. In leveraging strengths on cutting-edge vaccine development technologies, SK bioscience has been dedicated to promoting human health from prevention to cure across the globe. Under collaborations of domestic and international governments, regulatory agencies, healthcare providers, doctors, and medical experts, SK bioscience has firmly established globally certified R&D and manufacturing technologies. All of the SK colleagues are passionately committed to providing high-quality vaccines to those who need them and better public healthcare solutions. For further information, please visit

– Official SK bioscience Homepage
– SK bioscience Linkedin

Contact
SK bioscience Communications Team
Changhyun Jin(jin99@sk.com)  
Jeannie S. Pak(J.pak@sk.com)  
Tae-Gyun Kim(taegyunkim@sk.com)

Author

GeneOnline