[비즈한국] Eubiologics206650 is gaining public attention thanks to the visit of Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and former chairman of Microsoft (MS), who returned to Korea for the first time in three years. Gates founded the Gates Foundation to address global health, education, and poverty issues and serves as its co-chair. As Eubiologics supplies cholera vaccines to underdeveloped nations, including those in Africa, through UNICEF, expectations are rising that the company could further strengthen its cooperation with the Gates Foundation.
Eubiologics is developing cholera, meningococcal, and typhoid vaccines in partnership with the Gates Foundation. It is the consensus in the industry that without the support of the Gates Foundation, it would have been difficult not only to develop these vaccines but even to devise plans for their commercialization. All of these vaccines are aimed at entering underdeveloped markets through public sector procurement, and support from the Gates Foundation has allowed the company to reduce development costs and lower unit prices.
Eubiologics has maintained a close relationship with the Gates Foundation since 2014, when it received $5 million (7 billion won) in support from the Global Health Investment Fund (GHIF), created by the Gates Foundation, while struggling with cholera vaccine development due to financial difficulties. The Gates Foundation also contributed to the expansion of Eubiologics' production capacity for bulk and finished Euvichol products by providing grants of $4.72 million (5.6 billion won at the time's exchange rate) in 2019 and $4.2 million (5.6 billion won at the time's exchange rate) in 2022.
Currently, cholera is spreading rapidly in Africa, the Middle East, and Bangladesh. This is due to contaminated drinking water caused by rising temperatures from global warming, localized droughts, floods, and civil wars. Eubiologics has supplied the oral cholera vaccine "Euvichol" to UNICEF since 2016. Following the exit of India's Shantha Biotechnics from cholera vaccine production in 2022, Eubiologics is now the sole supplier, underscoring the significance of the company's role.
Thanks to support from the Gates Foundation, Eubiologics has equipped itself with a capacity to produce up to 90 million doses of Euvichol per year. The supply of cholera vaccines has also increased every year, from 22.47 million doses in 2021 to 37.19 million doses in 2024. As vaccine supply increased, revenue also rose. Sales for the first half of this year reached 72.5 billion won, already hitting about 80% of last year's total annual revenue (89.2 billion won).
Eubiologics is also receiving support from the Gates Foundation and the Research Investment for Global Health Technology (RIGHT) Foundation to develop a meningococcal vaccine to combat meningococcal meningitis in Africa. The company is currently conducting phase 3 clinical trials for its 5-valent meningococcal vaccine candidate, "EuMenin 5," in Mali and Gambia. The plan is to complete phase 3 clinical trials within the year, obtain export approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety next year, and then secure WHO PQ (Pre-Qualification) certification, which is a condition for participating in the global public vaccine procurement market.
Meningococcal meningitis is prevalent in about 26 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, a region known as the "meningitis belt," including Gambia and Eritrea.
Eubiologics also received help from the Gates Foundation in developing its typhoid vaccine, "Typh-C." While it directly received support from the RIGHT Foundation, the role of the Gates Foundation was effectively significant, considering that the RIGHT Foundation is an organization launched by the Gates Foundation in partnership with the Korean government and companies. Typh-C received export approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety at the end of last month and plans to undergo the WHO PQ certification process.
In addition to cholera, meningococcal, and typhoid vaccines, Eubiologics is researching and developing vaccines for shingles, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), Nipah virus, cervical cancer, and Alzheimer's disease.
Baek Young-ok and Hur Tae-young, CEOs of Eubiologics, met with Trevor Mundel, President of Global Health at the Gates Foundation, on the 20th to discuss responding to potential future novel infectious diseases, as well as the rapid development and mass production of vaccines. An Eubiologics official stated, "We also exchanged opinions on our vaccine pipeline, commercialization schedules, and adjuvant system."