Winia to launch vaccine refrigerator in S. Korea.

Winia Dimchae, a South Korean home appliance brand specializing in kimchi fridges, announced Wednesday that the company would begin local sales of its ultra-low temperature freezer for COVID-19 vaccines, named Medibox.

According to Winia, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has recently granted approval for the company’s Medibox, developed by WInia‘s telecommunications apparatus affiliate Dayou Plus.

The new vaccine storage system has been categorized as a blood bank refrigerator since the ministry does not have a proper regulatory class for vaccine refrigerators yet.

The company has completed its registration of the trademark of Medibox with the Korean Intellectual Property Office, along with three related trademarks.

Dayou Plus will be in charge of manufacturing the vaccine refrigerator, while Winia will take charge of sales and distribution of Medibox here.

Winia said it would initially target the public procurement market, by registering the product with the Korea Online E-Procurement System in a bid to land orders from public health centers and state-run hospitals.

The company will later start selling vaccine refrigerators to private hospitals and pharmaceutical companies, to help them secure a cold supply chain, required for safe storage and transporation of the COVID-19 vaccine jabs.

Winia’s Medibox freezer, which weighs 65 kilograms and has a 90-liter capacity, can store up to 18,000 vaccine units and maintain temperatures between minus 80 degrees Celsius and 10 degrees Celsius.

Medibox can also maintain the ultra-cold temperature for one to two hours if used with a separate battery pack, according to Winia.

Meanwhile, Winia completed registration and listing of Medibox with the US Food and Drug Administration in March this year. Winia said the company was considering options to export Medibox to Mexico, India and Russia in the future.



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