SK Bioscience said Tuesday that it has released Sky Varicella Inj., a chickenpox vaccine, and will start supplying the treatment to local medical institutions.

The company received sales approval for the vaccine from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in June. Chickenpox, also known as varicella-zoster virus, is a highly contagious disease which causes skin rashes that form small, itchy blisters, which eventually scab over.

According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), the number of domestic chickenpox cases has increased 48.2 percent from 54,060 in 2016 to 80,092 in 2017.

The government has designated chicken pox as a part of the national immunization program for infants aged 12 to 15 months since 2005.

SK Bioscience confirmed the high immunogenicity of the vaccine in a clinical trial conducted at 19 domestic and foreign institutions, including the Catholic University of Korea St. Vincent's Hospital. The research confirmed the efficacy and safety of the drug in 499 children aged from 12 months to 12 years.

The company plans to produce the vaccine at L House, its vaccine plant. The factory can manufacture most of the vaccines developed in Korea and has cell culture, bacterial culture, gene recombination and protein conjugation vaccine technologies.

“With the launch of Sky Varicella we will be able to contribute more to the improvement of public health,” SK Bioscience CEO Ahn Jae-yong said. “The company will also accelerate overseas expansion.”

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