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Two biopharmaceutical experts join SK bioscience to strengthen the future strategies With recruitment of global talent and capabilities accumulated during the COVID-19 pandemic, SK bioscience will continue to achieve sustainable growth SEOUL, South Korea, Jan. 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SK bioscience, a global innovative vaccine and biotech company committed to promoting human health from prevention to cure across the globe, announced that Richard Kensinger, PhD, former Director and Head of Drug Substance Process Development in Sanofi Pasteur and former Executive Director of Process Development and Protein Sciences at Affinivax Inc. has joined in 'SK bioscience USA Inc.' as Vice President of R&D Project Management. Continue Reading Two biopharmaceutical experts, Richard Kensinger(left), and Kenneth Lee recently joined SK bioscience to accelerate the company’s new growth strategies. Dr. Kensinger is an expert who has been dedicated to biopharmaceutical R&D, working at global companies for more than 20 years. He received a Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences at Eastern University and a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Kensinger as an expert of R&D process, will take a role in strengthening the company's global competitiveness mainly targeting the United States market by improving the manufacturing process to the cGMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) level, the US certification for manufacturing practice which is considered as the highest standard worldwide. SK bioscience additionally recruited Kenneth Lee, former Head of Commercial Division, Americas of GenScript Probio, as Vice President of Biologic Business Development Department at R&D Center in Pangyo, South Korea. Starting at Gilead Sciences, Inc., Mr. Lee worked at various Korean and international biopharmaceutical companies such as CrystalGenomics Inc., BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc., Binex Co.,ltd, and Samsung Bioepis, managing R&D, business development, M&A, etc. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Molecular Cell Biology at the University of California Berkeley and an MBA at INSEAD. Mr. Lee will be in charge of developing new biopharmaceutical-driven strategies beyond the vaccine business including a Cellular & Gene Therapy (CGT) field. Last October, other experts from international organizations joined SK bioscience. Dr. Harry Kleanthous, former Senior Program Officer in Global Health at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), joined as Executive Vice President of Vaccine R&D Strategy and External Innovation. Dr. Sally Choe, an expert in drug review, clinical pharmacology, and medical product development, was also recruited as Head of Global Clinical Development and Regulatory Affairs. Through the recruitment, SK bioscience plans to implement Following-up response to COVID-19 endemic Strengthening the vaccine business and advancing to the global market Securing CGT and next-generation platform technologies Strengthening global partnership in preparation for the next pandemic Qualitative and quantitative expansion of R&D and manufacturing infrastructures Continuous strengthening of management infrastructure. Jaeyong Ahn, CEO of SK bioscience said, "Now is the time for advancing beyond Korea to the global market based on our accumulated capabilities. The strategic recruitment of global talent like Dr. Kensinger and Mr. Lee will be an important cornerstone for us to become a global leading player in vaccine and biopharmaceutical industries." Contact SK bioscience Communications Team Changhyun Jin([email protected]) Jeannie S. Pak([email protected]) Tae-Gyun Kim([email protected]) About SK bioscience SK bioscience is a global innovative vaccine and biotech company, standing committed to global pandemic preparedness in vaccine development and manufacturing to create more equitable access to vaccines. In leveraging strengths on cutting-edge vaccine development technologies, SK bioscience has been dedicated to promoting human health from prevention to cure across the globe. Under collaborations of domestic and international governments, regulatory agencies, healthcare providers, doctors and medical experts, SK bioscience has firmly established globally certified R&D and manufacturing technologies. All of the SK colleagues are passionately committed to providing high-quality vaccines to those who need them and better public healthcare solutions. For further information, please visit - Official SK bioscience Homepage - SK bioscience Linkedin SOURCE SK bioscience

South Korea’s health regulator has suspended Samsung Pharmaceutical’s manufacturing operations until mid-February after the agency learned that a production manager was tasked with responsibilities of two different plants. The revelation violated a law requiring each plant to be managed by one person. Monday’s halt comes just months after an inspection revealed a number of violations at one Samsung Pharma plant, including the use of additives without permission and false manufacturing records, the Korea Biomedical Review reported . Six drugs, including five of Samsung Pharma’s, have been suspended from being manufactured. Geramin, Moarex, Combicin, and an Aprogen Pharmaceutical drug Healthnamine have all been halted. The company is in no way affiliated with the South Korean electronics giant Samsung, or its subsidiary Samsung Biologics, a representative for the company said. In a statement on its website, Samsung Pharma attributed the error to negligence, and carelessness in checking in on the manager’s work, and insisted that it was not a problem with the quality of products shipped. “Nevertheless, (we are) deeply reflecting on the inconvenience caused by not thoroughly complying with the standards that we, as pharmaceutical manufacturers, should abide by,” the statement said. The three-month suspension is the first step in a series of potential punishments for companies who violate the law that prevents the double-dipping of employees. The next is a six-month manufacturing suspension, and the third strike will see the agency revoke a businesses license, Korea Biomedical Review reported. The suspension will start today and end on Feb. 14. Additional sanctions include the halt of manufacturing injections for five weeks and a four-month suspension of the five drugs under scrutiny. In a public statement, the company announced that the suspension would cost the company 5.7 billion won, or roughly $4.8 million. In June , a temporary suspension was ordered after violations surfaced, and the six drugs were forced to be recalled. Samsung Pharma illegally used additives arbitrarily and created false documents to cover up the violations. Regulators have also punished companies such as Vivozon and Binex for similar violations. The news brought down the company’s stock in the South Korean market when it first broke in June. But shares faltered very little after Monday’s news broke, still closing higher than the previous day. In the statement, Samsung Pharma said that it would revisit its founding philosophy and focus on its original duties as a pharmaceutical company. “We will do our best to become a Samsung Pharma that can be trusted by shareholders, customers, medical staff and patients again by removing the complacency of the past,” it said.