● SK bioscience Herpes Zoster Vaccine SKY Zoster Sales Exceed 1 Million Doses Just Two Years After Launch

- Cumulative sales expected to reach 100 billion Korean won this year
- Almost 50% market share based on sales volume... “This year will be the first year of our overseas expansion”


SKY Zoster, the world＇s second herpes zoster vaccine and Korea’s first has accumulated sales of more than 1 million doses.

SK bioscience announced on the 12th that its independently-developed herpes zoster vaccine, SKY Zoster exceeded 1 million doses in Korea as of December last year. This achievement was reached after only 2 years since the launch of the product.

According to the drug market research firm IQVIA, SKY Zoster＇s total market share for herpes zoster vaccine in the fourth quarter of last year reached 47.4%, which is close to half of the total market.

SK bioscience projects accumulated sales of 100 billion won soon.

Considering that drugs are usually prescribed following reviews of market reactions after their launch, SKY Zoster’s exceptional performance during its two years after marketing approval indicates a blockbuster product.

Reasons for SK bioscience’s marketing success include △ excellent clinical data, △ cutting-edge production facilities, △ formulation with improved inoculation convenience, △ diversified sales outlets through co-promotion, and △ reasonable price.

As the safety or efficacy of vaccination has been verified in the market, the increase in vaccination of SKY Zoster is expected to become more pronounced in the future.

With the SKY Zoster’s quick settlement in the market, SK bioscience is planning to expand SKY Zoster’s global market share by targeting emerging markets like Southeast Asia this year.

Ahn Jae-yong, CEO of SK bioscience, said, "As population aging progresses, interest in herpes zoster will increase, and sales of SKY Zoster will continue to grow." He added, "We will expand our products’ reach into overseas markets with a commitment for growth as a global company.”

SK bioscience, a newly established bio and vaccine company that was spun off from SK chemicals, is expanding into the global market with its independently-developed vaccines. SKYCellflu, an independently-developed trivalent influenza vaccine and SKYCellflu Quadrivalent, a quadrivalent influenza vaccine were the world＇s first cell culture-derived influenza vaccines to acquire the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Pre-Qualification (PQ) certification last year, and on the strength of this, SK bioscience will participate in international bidding. A technology export contract was also signed to apply the cell culture-derived influenza vaccine technology to the “universal influenza vaccine” developed by Sanofi Pasteur, a global vaccine leader.

SK bioscience is engaged in global clinical trials to develop a next-generation pneumococcal vaccine in collaboration with Sanofi Pasteur. The company is also developing a typhoid vaccine with the International Vaccine Institute under the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and is participating with the global organization PATH (Program for Appropriate Technology in Health) in the development of injection-type rotavirus vaccines for developing countries.

Recently, SK bioscience has also secured a vaccine development platform technology that can more quickly respond to new and emerging strains such as the novel coronavirus, MERS, and SARS. SK bioscience is equipped with a system capable of mass production as soon as the new vaccine development is completed through Andong L House, a vaccine factory that boasts the world＇s best facilities and scale.



* Photo description: SKY Zoster, SK bioscience herpes zoster vaccine