Aju Business Daily

SEOUL -- Ilko Pharmaceuticals, a pharmaceutical company in Turkey, will work with Genexine, a clinical-stage biotechnology company in South Korea, for the development of GX-19, a DNA vaccine material for COVID-19 that has secured government approval to go ahead with clinical trials.

Genexine said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with its Turkish partner, Ilko Pharmaceuticals, on cooperation in global clinical trials of GX-19 and the establishment of overseas licensing and supply chain. The two companies established a joint venture company in 2013 to develop and commercialize new bio-drugs overseas.

Genexine has been involved in a state-commissioned research consortium that also groups the state-run Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology, Pohang University of Science and Technology and the International Vaccine Institute. The consortium started the first testing of a vaccine candidate on monkeys in March and confirmed the generation of antibodies that can neutralize a novel coronavirus.

Genexine partnered with PT Kalbe Farma, a pharmaceutical, healthcare and nutrition company in Indonesia, in May for joint vaccine research, followed by a similar deal with the National Vaccine Institute, a Thai public autonomous authority that coordinates vaccine affairs with domestic and international stakeholders.