Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group will prepare for the next 50 years based on COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. The company has built a global network, which will help it muscle into the global vaccine market.
Hanmi Science, the group’s holding company, has completed the development of the six raw materials which hold the key to manufacturing mRNA vaccines.
As a holding company, we have continuously accumulated mRNA-related technologies, a major next-generation drug development platform, and sought to win contract production deals from Pfizer, Moderna and CureVac.” said a company official. “Now, we are in a stage to yield tangible results.
Hanmi Pharmaceutical, a major affiliate of the group, is also developing its own mRNA vaccine. Separately, Hanmi Science has formed a consortium with ST Pharm and GC Green Cross to secure and commercialize domestic mRNA vaccine technology by 2022.
Production capacity expansion efforts are also picking up its speed. Hanmi Fine Chemical, an affiliate producing pharmaceutical raw materials, is building a system to supply materials for up to 300 million doses of mRNA vaccines a year. The company is capable of producing 100 million doses of three core raw materials – Cationic lipid, PEG-lipid, and Hanmi Cap – per year.
Hanmi Pharmaceutical’s Pyeongtaek Bio Plant has a system that can produce 100 million doses of DNA vaccines and one billion doses of mRNA vaccines annually. Its core facility is a 20,000-liter microbial culture and refining facility, which is built on the premise of its second plant, completed three years ago.
The ability to develop and produce mRNA vaccines at the same time is Hanmi’s big strength when compared to Modena, which is currently suffering supply disruptions.
Another advantage of Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group is that it has accumulated experiences in cooperating and selling new drugs with large global pharmaceutical and biotech companies such as MSD and Genentech. “Based on its abundant network, Hanmi Pharmaceutical Group will be able to speed up the research and development of mRNA vaccines and next-generation mRNA medicines and global expansion,” an industry analyst said.
