President Moon Jae-in and Novavax CEO Stanley Erck have agreed to expand the current partnership on the local production of the US drugmaker’s new vaccine, including the possible extension of a licensing deal to share manufacturing technology, according to Cheong Wa Dae sources Tuesday.

The two held a face-to-face meeting at the presidential office earlier in the day. In their first video conversation in January, the South Korean government secured 40 million doses of the new Novavax vaccine to be produced at the local facilities of SK Bioscience, the contract manufacturer. The deal also included a technology transfer that would allow more efficiency and flexibility in managing production targets.

Under the heightened partnership, sources say, Moon pledged full support to advance the approval process of the vaccine for earlier use here, while the Novavax CEO agreed to consider extending the licensing deal with the Korean drugmaker for another year.

“The atmosphere was friendly throughout the 30-minute conversation,” a Cheong Wa Dae official said on condition of anonymity. “Through the expanded partnership, the Korean government is on track to secure a more stable vaccine supply.”

Asked why the agreement could not be led to a new deal immediately, the official denied any discrepancies between the two during the talks, saying, “More details will be discussed further by working-level officials of the two drugmakers.”

The Novavax CEO arrived in Seoul on Monday to hold multiple meetings with SK Bioscience officials and the nation’s health authorities affiliated with the vaccine campaign task force. He also toured the Korean drugmaker’s production facilities in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, where AstraZeneca’s vaccines are being produced for local consumption.

Given the Novavax vaccine is still under review for approval in the US and UK, Korean regulators are expected to complete its review process as soon as both countries grant approval, possibly in the coming weeks.

With the pending approval, SK Bioscience plans to start producing the vaccines as early as June and could supply the first batch of 20 million doses by the end of the third quarter.

The latest high-level meeting comes as the government is making all-out efforts to secure more COVID-19 vaccines amid public concerns over limited vaccine supplies and delayed vaccinations here.

On Monday, Moon stressed the government had resolved much of the concerns by securing an additional 20 million doses of Pfizer vaccines over the weekend. Now the nation’s total number of COVID-19 vaccines secured have amounted to 192 million doses fit for 99 million people, nearly double its population.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)