SK Bioscience selected to manage COVID-19 vaccine distribution in S. Korea

SEOUL -- SK Bioscience, a cooperation partner for South Korea's state project to develop COVID-19 vaccines, has been selected to manage the nationwide distribution of vaccines that will be imported sequentially from February. The company will establish an integrated control center based on Internet of Things (IoT).

SK Bioscience will establish a customized cold chain system for each vaccine and monitor temperature and delivery in real-time through cooperation with m2cloud, a domestic company with a know-how in pharmaceutical cold-chain logistics and supply chain management, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said on January 22.

"The establishment of a thorough distribution management system for vaccines is the most important key task for safe vaccination, so we will prepare carefully and without any disruptions before vaccination is implemented," said KDCA head Jeong Eun-kyeong who promised to install an ultra-low temperature freezer for Pfizer vaccines. SK Bioscience will cooperate with domestic logistics companies to operates a frozen refrigeration center.

SK Bioscience, which is involved in the development of COVID-19 vaccines in South Korea, has a production partnership with AstraZeneca PLC, a Swedish-British pharmaceutical company. The company has also secured a deal to produce the antigen of a vaccine candidate being developed by Novavax, an American company.