South Korean biopharma company Green Cross said Thursday that its self-developed quadrivalent influenza vaccine has obtained the World Health Organization’s prequalification approval.

The approval grants Green Cross eligibility to join the United Nation’s procurement bid for influenza vaccines in the future to potentially win vaccine supply orders from UN affiliates such as UNICEF and PAHO.


Green Cross’ GC Flu Quadrivalent is able to protect against four strains of influenza -- two influenza A strains (H1N1, H3N2) and two influenza B strains (Yamagata, Victoria) -- with a single vaccination.

Green Cross is the second company in the world to have secured the WHO’s prequalification for a vaccine targeting four strains of influenza, after Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine development unit of French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi.

With its newly approved vaccine, the Korean drugmaker plans to continue expanding its share in the UN’s vaccine procurement market.

GC Flu Quadrivalent is an upgraded version of a formerly developed Green Cross vaccine that targets three strains of influenza. The older vaccine is currently the No. 1 vaccine supplied to Central and South America via UN agencies, according to the company. 

By Sohn Ji-young (jys@heraldcorp.com)