VaxGen Inc. and a group of South Korean investors have announced the formation of a joint venture, which will invest approximately USD 120 million to build and operate a facility in Incheon, South Korea, to manufacture VaxGen’s AIDS vaccine. The joint venture, through the same USD 120 million investment, will also fund construction of a smaller facility in South San Francisco, California, USA, to support licensure and commercial launch of the vaccine. Both facilities will be used for commercial manufacture of the vaccine, AIDSVAX, if it proves safe and effective and is licensed by the US Food and Drug Administration. The South Korean investors participating in the joint venture, known as Celltrion Inc., are Nexol Corp., Korea Tobacco & Ginseng Corp., and J. Stephen & Co. Ventures Ltd. VaxGen will provide mammalian cell culture technology and biologics production expertise to Celltrion, but no cash, in exchange for a 44% interest in the joint venture. VaxGen is Celltrion’s single-largest shareholder.
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