SK bioscience said on the 19th that it transferred its headquarters and research lab to the Songdo "Global research and process development (R&PD) center" in Incheon. The site will house state-of-the-art vaccine research facilities. The company plans to strengthen cooperation with global institutions.
The Songdo center has a total floor area of 64,178.37 square meters (19,413 pyeong) and spans two basement levels to seven floors above ground. It includes laboratories for vaccine platform research such as messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) and protein recombination. It can carry out all processes from initial platform research to process design, technology verification, and transfer. A pilot lab was built to consolidate research processes that had been partly conducted in parallel at the Andong L House commercial production facility into the center. A company official said, "We can enhance development speed and completeness."
All floors of the center are connected by open staircases. The first floor has a space that can accommodate more than 100 people, enabling exchanges with visitors from global partner companies and international organizations. Near the center, the company created a workplace daycare center for about 50 children. The company fully covers daycare tuition and special activity fees.
The company plans to strengthen vaccine development for pneumococcus and influenza and expand joint projects with international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO). Songdo has the advantage of proximity to an airport for exchanges with overseas institutions. Ahn Jae-yong of SK bioscience said, "We have secured the infrastructure to implement our mid- to long-term growth strategy," adding, "By linking research, processes, and global cooperation, we will contribute to global health."