"Stop the Second COVID-19: Bill Gates Joins Hands with Domestic Companies One After Another"

KT Followed by SK, 4.4 Billion Won Support for COVID-19 Vaccine Development

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, established by Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft (MS), has been joining hands with domestic companies to overcome the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). Gates has cited South Korea's COVID-19 response as a model example of quarantine measures.

On the 18th, SK Bioscience announced that it would receive research and development funding from the Gates Foundation for COVID-19 vaccine development. The Gates Foundation is providing a total of $3.6 million (approximately 4.4 billion KRW).

This is the third collaboration between SK Bioscience and the Gates Foundation. Ahn Jae-yong, CEO of SK Bioscience, said, "Following the pediatric enteritis vaccine and typhoid vaccine, we have once again partnered with the Gates Foundation," adding, "It is recognition of our world-class technology." SK Bioscience plans to discuss the use of the funding with CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations), which is leading global COVID-19 vaccine research and development.

KT is also conducting research on infectious disease spread prevention solutions with investment from the Gates Foundation. KT announced the day before that it would conduct a 'next-generation quarantine research for infectious disease preparedness' worth 12 billion KRW over three years with investment from the Gates Foundation.

Through this research, KT will develop an 'AI-based early diagnosis algorithm for infectious diseases' and an 'infectious disease spread route prediction model' using communication data. The Gates Foundation will support 6 billion KRW, which is half of the total research budget, in the form of a fund.

The initial task is to develop an app based on Internet of Things (IoT) sensors that allows users to self-report flu-like symptoms. To this end, a consortium has been formed including Professor Kim Woo-joo from Korea University Medical Center, the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI), the startup Mobile Doctor, and the blockchain company MediBloc.

Meanwhile, GC Green Cross announced that it will provide its COVID-19 plasma treatment 'GC5131A,' currently under development, free of charge to domestic patients. The company will bear all costs from development to commercialization excluding government subsidies. There are no quantity limits or preconditions for the free supply.

The target commercialization period is the second half of this year. A GC Green Cross official said, "Clinical trials are scheduled for July," and "free supply will begin immediately upon commercialization within the year." The company requested shareholders' understanding and consent for this decision aimed at creating a stable future rather than short-term profits through a shareholder letter on the same day.

Huh Eun-chul, CEO of GC Green Cross, said, "Medicines used to treat this unprecedented infectious disease should be solely used for stabilizing public health," adding, "The plasma treatment platform created by the united strength of the Korean people who overcame COVID-19 has value beyond money."

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