[Press Release] Experts recognize excellence in mRNA manufacturing capabilities and preventive/therapeutic vaccine development capabilities.

ST Pharm announced that the company won two awards at the Korea Biopharma Excellence Awards 2024 held at Convensia in Songdo, Incheon on August 13.

First, it won the ‘Bioprocessing Excellence Award in mRNA Manufacturing’ in the Bioprocessing Supplier Excellence Awards category and the 'Most Promising Therapeutic Vaccine' award in the Innovation Excellence Awards category.

The Korea Biopharma Excellence Awards recognizes companies that have achieved outstanding performance in the fields of biology, cell and gene therapy, and vaccines. Nominations are evaluated based on excellence and innovation in each sector and more than 10000 experts and industry community members participated in direct voting to select the winner.

This award means that ST Pharm’s outstanding mRNA production capabilities and preventive/therapeutic vaccine development capabilities have been recognized by experts, serving as a basis for proving its competitiveness on the global stage moving forward.

During the coronavirus pandemic, when the Korean government was having difficulty securing vaccines to inoculate the public, ST Pharm began developing a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine in January 2021 based on the mRNA platform technology it had been researching since 2018.

Since then, ST Pharm has developed the 5' cap analogue, SmartCap, and the ionizable lipid, STLNP, with its proprietary technology and applied for an international patent. Additionally, ST Pharm also received the first GMP certification in Korea from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for its dedicated mRNA research/development and GMP production facilities. In November of last year, ST Pharm announced the interim results of its in-house developed COVID-19 mRNA vaccine STP2104 (Phase 1 clinical trial completed), confirming equal or better efficacy compared to the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines released by global pharmaceutical company.

An ST Pharm official stated, "This award is a result of experts’ recognition of our technological and innovative capabilities, and we will continue to do our best in producing mRNA and developing vaccine/therapeutic treatments. We will further strengthen our competitiveness in the global mRNA LNP raw materials and bio market."