Genexine signs vaccine supply deal with Indonesia

Local vaccine developer Genexine has signed a contract with an Indonesian pharmaceutical company to supply 10 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, the company said Tuesday.

According to the firm, Indonesian pharmaceutical company PT Kalbe Farma will purchase 10 million doses of GX-19N, the vaccine candidate currently in the phase 2 clinical trial stage. Genexine will be provided with royalties based on sales of the vaccine, it added.

Sale of the jabs would be possible only after the Indonesian government gives it emergency-use approval.

Genexine and PT Kalbe Farma have already submitted applications for phase 2 and 3 clinical trials to the Indonesian Food and Drug Authority, it said.

PT Kalbe Farma will cover the costs for the clinical studies in Indonesia and for this the Korean firm will not receive a down payment for the supply contract.

In South Korea, Genexine in a consortium that includes Binex, GenNBio, Kaist and Postech is leading a phase 2 clinical trial of the vaccine candidate. The company said it contains an antigen targeting the coronavirus’s nucleocapsid protein and is potentially effective against COVID-19 variants.

To date, a total of 240 people have joined the company’ clinical trials – 90 in a phase 1 trial and the other 150 in phase 2a. The company completed administration of the vaccine on them on April 7, it said.

No severe adverse reactions have been found among participants of the company’s clinical trials so far, the company added.

By Shim Woo-hyun (ws@heraldcorp.com)