"Vaccine Development Taking 10 Years Shortened to 6-18 Months During Pandemic"

Interview with Jerome Kim, Director General of the International Vaccine Institute
"If successful, guidelines will be established for reasonable pricing and distribution order"

Jerome Kim, Director General of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI)

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] "Vaccine development typically takes 5 to 10 years, but the development of a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine can be drastically shortened to 6 to 18 months in a pandemic situation."

Jerome Kim, Director General of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), stated in an interview with Asia Economy on the 14th that this vaccine development scenario is based on the assumption that "all development stages succeed properly within the given time." According to his observation, the COVID-19 vaccine could be developed as early as the end of this year or next year, and at the latest within two years. As COVID-19 deaths continue to surge, vaccine research is being competitively conducted in various countries, which, according to Director General Kim, will shorten the development period. He emphasized the significance by saying, "If a vaccine for a new pathogen like COVID-19 is successfully developed within 6 to 18 months, it would be unprecedented."

◆ Vaccine Development as Early as Year-End or Next Year = Currently, major countries including South Korea, the United States, Europe, and China are fiercely competing to develop a COVID-19 vaccine. There are 102 vaccines under development, and among them, 8 have received approval for clinical trials. However, Director General Kim pointed out, "Although the situation is serious and vaccine development is urgent, safety issues must never be overlooked," adding, "Safety tests to evaluate both short- and long-term effects must be conducted over a considerable period."

He stressed 'international cooperation' as an essential condition for successful COVID-19 vaccine development. Director General Kim said, "No country in the world currently has the demand volume or production capacity for a COVID-19 vaccine," adding, "A vaccine cannot be developed by the efforts of a single country alone." In this regard, the International Vaccine Institute is focusing on the smooth supply of vaccines. Once a COVID-19 vaccine is developed, IVI plans to collaborate with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (GAVI), and the World Health Organization (WHO) to distribute it to countries at reasonable prices.

◆ "Cooperation with WHO and Others to Supply at Reasonable Prices" = Director General Kim stated, "We will ensure that vaccine developers agree to such pricing terms in exchange for funding from international health organizations like CEPI," and added, "We will also establish international guidelines regarding supply priorities and allocation order during the initial supply phase."

Above all, Director General Kim mentioned the importance of 'Just in Time' development, meaning rapid support for vaccine development before the epidemic ends. He explained, "Support from CEPI began immediately after the COVID-19 outbreak," and "Some vaccines have already started or are about to start clinical trials on humans."

Vaccines from Moderna Therapeutics and Inovio Pharmaceuticals, which are conducting clinical trials in the United States, are beneficiaries of CEPI support. The International Vaccine Institute, together with the National Institute of Health, will conduct domestic clinical trials for Inovio Pharmaceuticals' vaccine in early June. Director General Kim said, "Inovio's vaccine is one of the initial candidates," and added, "Since it showed meaningful results targeting Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), we hope for positive outcomes in the COVID-19 clinical trials as well."

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