GC Biopharma Secures CMO Rights for Shingles Vaccine from Curevo Vaccine

YONGIN, South Korea, Oct. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- GC Biopharma (006280.KS), a South Korean biopharmaceutical company, announced today that it has signed an agreement with Curevo Vaccine to secure contract manufacturing (CMO) rights for amezosvatein (development name: CRV-101), a recombinant shingles vaccine currently under clinical development.

Under the terms of the agreement, GC Biopharma will be responsible for producing a portion of the commercial supply of amezosvatein for global markets.

The global shingles vaccine market is currently dominated by GSK's Shingrix. Since its launch in 2018, the market has grown at an average annual rate of approximately 20%, expanding from KRW 1 trillion in 2017 to around KRW 6 trillion (USD ~4.4 billion) in 2024. Shingrix recorded over KRW 5 trillion (GBP 3.4 billion^[1]) in global sales last year, capturing more than 90% of the market.

Amezosvatein is an adjuvanted recombinant protein vaccine, similar in format to Shingrix, but uses a synthetic adjuvant designed to reduce local (injection-site pain) and systemic (influenza-like) reactions after vaccination to levels typical of conventional vaccines. The company believes this feature could position the product as a differentiated alternative with a superior tolerability profile.

In fact, amezosvatein demonstrated non- inferior immune system activity in early Phase 2 trials compared to the leading competitor and showed favorable tolerability results. Currently, Curevo Vaccine is conducting an expanded Phase 2 study in 640 adults aged 50 and older. The company aims to complete this trial by 2026 and move directly into Phase 3, paving the way for global commercialization.

The company expects that the addition of amezosvatein to the shingles vaccine landscape will offer patients and healthcare providers a valuable alternative, expanding choice in a market currently dominated by a single product.

"This agreement marks a critical milestone in securing long-term growth drivers for GC Biopharma," said Huh Eun-Chul, CEO of GC Biopharma. "We will continue to expand our global vaccine business through strategic collaborations and differentiated technologies."

^[1] Source: GSK Q4 2024 Earnings Announcement

About GC Biopharma

GC Biopharma (formerly known as Green Cross Corporation) is a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Yong-in, South Korea. The company has over half a century of experience in the development and manufacturing of plasma derivatives and vaccines, and is expanding its global presence with successful US market entry of Alyglo^® (intravenous immunoglobulin G) in 2024. In line with its mission to meet the demands of future healthcare, GC Biopharma continues to drive innovation by leveraging its core R&D capabilities in engineering of proteins, mRNAs, and lipid nanoparticle (LNP) drug delivery platform to develop therapeutics for the field of rare disease as well as I&I (Immunology & Inflammation). To learn more about the company, visit https://www.gcbiopharma.com/eng/

This press release may contain biopharmaceuticals in forward-looking statements, which express the current beliefs and expectations of GC Biopharma's management. Such statements do not represent any guarantee by GC Biopharma or its management of future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors. GC Biopharma undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement contained in this press release or any other forward-looking statements it may make, except as required by law or stock exchange rule.

GC Biopharma Contacts (Media)

Sohee Kim
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Yelin Jun
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Yoonjae Na
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SOURCE GC Biopharma