SK bioscience applies to WHO for emergency use listing for SKYCovione

An employee holds a vial of SKYCovione vaccine, developed and manufactured by SK bioscience, at a public health center in Incheon [YONHAP]

SK bioscience applied to the World Health Organization (WHO) for an emergency use listing (EUL) for SKYCovione, the country's first domestically developed Covid-19 vaccine.

The EUL is a risk-based procedure for assessing and listing unlicensed vaccines, therapeutics and in vitro diagnostics with the ultimate aim of expediting the availability of these products to people affected by a public health emergency, according to WHO.

SK bioscience needs the certificate in order to participate in any bids from international organizations including the Pan America Health Organization and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations. A total of 11 Covid-19 vaccines were granted EUL, including AstraZeneca and Moderna, as of end of August.

SK bioscience predicts the permission will come within the year. If authorized, SKYCovione vaccines will be supplied to countries worldwide through Covax Facility, a global vaccine distribution platform launched by the World Health Organization.

The vaccine maker already applied for conditional use approvals for the vaccine from Britain's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and European Medicines Agency.

SK bioscience said the vaccines will be especially helpful for people in developing countries as they can be stored in normal refrigerators at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius unlike Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, which use mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) technology and require extremely low temperatures to remain effective.

Eight out of 10 people in low- and middle-income countries have not received any Covid-19 vaccines yet, according to Our World In Data.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]