SK bioscience, a South Korea-based vaccine and biotech company, has secured KRW 300 billion (approximately USD 230 million) in long-term, low-interest financing through South Korea's Korea Growth Fund program, following board approval of the financing plan.
The capital will be deployed toward R&D, commercialization preparation, and manufacturing readiness for GBP410 (PCV21 or SP0202), a 21-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine candidate co-developed with Sanofi that is currently in global Phase III clinical trials. SK bioscience is the first Korean novel drug and vaccine developer to be selected as a beneficiary of the Korea Growth Fund, following the Financial Services Commission's Fund Management Deliberation Committee designation.
The Korea Growth Fund is a public-private policy financing initiative established to support strategic industries including AI, semiconductors, biotechnology, and secondary batteries. Structured as a citizen-participation investment fund, it targets large-scale projects in global Phase III clinical stages — a threshold GBP410 meets. No additional private investors participated in the financing.
Proceeds will support acceleration of the Phase III program, with the company targeting top-line results in the second half of 2027. Manufacturing scale-up and commercialization infrastructure are also priorities, reflecting the capital-intensive nature of late-stage vaccine development.