November 30, 2024

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SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won (second from left), SK Discovery Executive Vice Chairman Chey Chang-won (far right), SK Bioscience CEO Ahn Jae-yong (far left) and Bill Gates meet in Seoul on Wednesday to discuss shared commitments to global health. (SK Bioscience)

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won discussed shared commitments to global health with Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Foundation, SK Bioscience said Wednesday.

According to officials, SK Discovery Executive Vice Chairman Chey Chang-won and SK Bioscience CEO Ahn Jae-yong also attended the meeting in Yeouido, western Seoul. The SK leaders and Gates talked about how they can cooperate to improve global health.

SK Bioscience said the company and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have agreed to keep exploring methods to solve the global health problem and continue research and development efforts for new treatments and vaccines to respond to the next pandemic.

SK Bioscience has partnered with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation since 2013. The foundation provided funding for the South Korean vaccine developer’s efforts to create a number of products including a typhoid vaccine and nonreplicating rotavirus vaccine.

SK Bioscience received $3.6 million from the foundation to develop SKYCovieone, the country’s first domestic COVID-19 vaccine. With the funding, the company is also currently developing an antiviral nasal spray to prevent COVID-19 infections.

By Kan Hyeong-woo (hwkan@heraldcorp.com)