"Overcoming COVID-19 through International Cooperation and 'Open Science'"

KAIST Holds Online Forum on 'Global Cooperation Strategies'
Peter Lee, VP of Healthcare at MS USA, Identifies Medicine, Public Health, and Economy as Promising Collaboration Areas
"Data Utilization Will Greatly Accelerate Cooperation"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] "The novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) has made the world aware of the necessity of international cooperation and the importance of science and technology. It is not a matter of choosing whether to cooperate or conduct research, but rather the method of cooperation or research that matters."

Peter Lee, Vice President of Healthcare at Microsoft in the United States, emphasized this during his online opening remarks at the "Global Cooperation Measures to Overcome COVID-19" international forum held on the morning of the 22nd at the Academic and Cultural Center of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) main campus in Daejeon.

He identified three promising fields for cooperation to overcome COVID-19: "medical care," "public health," and "economy," stating, "Utilizing data can accelerate the speed of collaboration."

In the medical field, he cited the development of COVID-19 treatments and vaccines as examples. Vice President Lee said, "Researchers worldwide are struggling to develop treatments and vaccines," and predicted, "Integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning based on data will greatly support the development of new drugs and vaccines."

To this end, he proposed creating an "open dataset" that allows the world to share relevant data to speed up cooperation. He also added, "Public health and quarantine sectors heavily rely on data," emphasizing, "Standardization of public health data suitable for the global community is necessary."

In the economic field, he mentioned the need for data to cope with the changed life after COVID-19. Vice President Lee explained, "People will always be concerned about whether they can go to work or school as before and what risks exist in daily life," adding, "To provide answers to these questions, accurate data must be provided so individuals can make informed choices."

He introduced Microsoft's ongoing "Open Data Campaign" to reduce data gaps, explaining, "Currently, data technology is sufficient, and it is an era where the world can cooperate."

The forum was jointly hosted by the KAIST Global Strategy Institute (GSI), established in February, the World Economic Forum (WEF), and the Korea 4th Industrial Revolution Policy Center. It was an occasion to seek ways to overcome the impact of COVID-19, which has led countries worldwide to close their doors and caused economic contraction.

Jerome Kim, Secretary-General of the International Vaccine Institute, said, "Among COVID-19 vaccine candidates, 93% will disappear without even entering clinical stages," adding, "Research and development alone require enormous costs ranging from 400 million to 1 billion dollars, and due to this uncertainty, there are limits to private companies or individual research." He explained that international cooperation is also necessary here.

Ahanou Behnah, Head of the Global Health and Healthcare Sector at WEF, emphasized, "A new approach is needed so that all pharmaceutical companies and stakeholders can create a joint platform to conduct simultaneous research and development and prepare clinical trials together."

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