SK bioscience, a South Korea-based vaccine and biotech company, announced on Wednesday that it has signed a development licensing agreement with Hilleman Laboratories, a Singapore-based vaccines and biologics research and development company that said it is committed to improving vaccine accessibility and affordability for low- and middle-income countries.

The contract has been signed for joint development of a second-generation Zaire Ebola virus vaccine.

Hilleman Laboratories and SK bioscience will collaborate on the development of an improved second-generation Zaire Ebola virus vaccine candidate with the goal of increasing production process productivity and improving product thermostability that would potentially help increase the global Ebola vaccine supply and help expand access.

SK bioscience will acquire unique expertise and know-how for use of rVSV (recombinant Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Vector) technology platform, in close collaboration with Hilleman Laboratories with the potential to jointly develop other vaccines against a variety of viral infectious diseases.