Ministry of SMEs and Startups "Establish Early COVID-19 Diagnosis System"... 'Bio Venture' Meeting

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daeseop] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 25th that it held a meeting with bio venture companies in the infectious disease diagnosis field related to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

The meeting was held at Seegene, a molecular diagnostic reagent and equipment manufacturer located in Songpa, Seoul. Attendees included Park Young-sun, Minister of SMEs and Startups, Lee Eui-kyung, Commissioner of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Cheon Jong-yoon, CEO of Seegene, Yoo Jae-hyung, CEO of Solgent, and other government and industry representatives.

Minister Park and Commissioner Lee encouraged the efforts of bio venture companies who devoted themselves day and night to overcoming COVID-19 and listened to their difficulties and suggestions.

The government officials stated, "The recent slowdown in the spread of COVID-19 in our country is not only due to the dedication of medical personnel but also thanks to the rapid development of diagnostic reagents by domestic bio venture companies," adding, "The global supply of our country's diagnostic technology marks the beginning of global cooperation to overcome COVID-19."

They continued, "The emergency use authorization system played a decisive role in establishing an early COVID-19 diagnosis system by utilizing private sector innovation capabilities in crisis situations for quarantine. This is a good example showing how rapid and bold regulatory easing contributed to private innovation during a national crisis."

According to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Seegene developed a diagnostic kit within two weeks based on publicly available COVID-19 genome sequence information and the company's development know-how. Thanks to the emergency use authorization system, approval was obtained on the 12th of last month, just one week later.

Currently, all employees at Seegene are dedicated to COVID-19 diagnostic reagents, which account for 82% of the company's total sales. Additionally, to respond to the national crisis, about 70 research personnel have been dispatched to medical sites nationwide to provide training and testing support.

Company representatives attending the meeting emphasized the importance of AI-bio convergence, stating, "Rapid development was possible by analyzing the COVID-19 gene sequence with high-performance computers and artificial intelligence (AI)," and suggested that support is needed to respond to the surging overseas demand.

The government plans to promote a comprehensive package support (K-Diagnostic Kit Comprehensive Package Support) for COVID-19 diagnostic kit manufacturers. Export staff from the Small and Medium Business Corporation will be designated as dedicated personnel for one-on-one support to continuously identify and immediately assist with export and funding difficulties. Furthermore, the government will support the establishment of bio-specialized smart factories based on data as a package and strengthen the AI-bio convergence capabilities of bio ventures.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.