SK bioscience, Hilleman Laboratories sign MOU to develop vaccines

Raman Rao, left, CEO of Hilleman Laboratories, and Ahn Jae-yong, CEO of SK bioscience, take a photo after signing an MOU to co-develop vaccines for less developed countries. [SK BIOSCIENCE]

SK bioscience signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with New Delhi-based Hilleman Laboratories to co-develop vaccines for viral diseases.

Under the agreement, the two parties will cooperate on the entire process of developing vaccines starting from conducting early research. The two share the same goal, which is to solve the imbalance of vaccine distribution between developed countries and developing countries.

Established in 2009, Hilleman Laboratories is a non-profit vaccine institute jointly established by MSD, a U.S. pharmaceutical company, and Wellcome Trust, a London-based global charitable foundation.

The two parties will share their experience such as Hilleman's know-how in conducting research and SK bioscience's strategies for marketing the vaccines.

“Low- and middle-income countries have historically faced difficulties in vaccine accessibility, with significant economic burden and on health metrics," said Raman Rao, CEO of Hilleman Laboratories. "We collaborate with SK bioscience to support the development of new vaccine platforms to fulfill our mission to accelerate broad access to vaccines for populations in those countries.”

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