[Initial Perspective] Baesujin-Backed Domestic COVID-19 Vaccine Developer

Deputy Minister of the 4th Industrial Revolution Department

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] "Devoting all efforts to developing a domestic vaccine. Whether success or failure, we will develop it."

A domestic COVID-19 vaccine developer executive recently gave a solemn answer when asked about the status of clinical trials. This company is focusing all its efforts on one pipeline, setting aside multiple others that have already entered clinical stages, to develop a domestic COVID-19 vaccine.

Even as the United States expressed support earlier this month for a temporary waiver of intellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccines, complicating the calculations of vaccine developers worldwide, this company's conviction remains firm. As the COVID-19 pandemic increasingly shifts toward becoming endemic, establishing 'vaccine sovereignty' has emerged as a national priority.

The difficulties Korea faced in securing and supplying vaccines have further fueled the determination to develop a domestic vaccine. An executive from the company, which is about to enter Phase 3 clinical trials, said, "We can no longer stop vaccine development at this point," adding, "We have cut all bridges to turn back." This reflects a strong will to complete the development of a domestic COVID-19 vaccine.

Domestic biotech companies are approaching COVID-19 vaccine development with a 'do or die' attitude, but government support to 'fully assist domestic vaccine development' remains woefully insufficient.

Currently, five domestic biotech companies?Genexine, Cellid, SK Bioscience, UbioLogics, and GeneOne Life Science?are engaged in COVID-19 vaccine development. However, the total clinical support funding these five companies have received from the government amounts to 38.6 billion KRW. Divided among the five, the company receiving the largest support gets only about 10 billion KRW. Facing the costly Phase 3 clinical trials, they are confronted with the reality of having to partner with overseas companies to secure funding.

Compared to the U.S. government's support of approximately 2 trillion KRW and 4 trillion KRW for Pfizer and Moderna respectively to pre-purchase and develop messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines, this support is negligible. The German government also agreed earlier this year to provide 400 million euros (about 540 billion KRW) to BioNTech, which co-developed the COVID-19 vaccine with Pfizer, to produce 3 billion doses next year.

The concerns of these companies continue even after development. Given the possibility of failure and limited resources, even if they succeed in developing a vaccine, if the product does not sell, their efforts could be wasted. A similar situation occurred last year during the mask shortage when companies ramped up production but later struggled with excess inventory. Companies agree that government pre-purchase would be a great help, but the government has yet to respond.

At the Korea-U.S. summit held early on the 22nd Korea time, the COVID-19 vaccine alliance will be a major agenda item. Plans to concretize vaccine swaps and for Korean biotech companies to undertake contract manufacturing of U.S.-developed vaccines to become a global vaccine production hub are expected. Additionally, there is talk of Moderna signing an agreement with the government to expand direct investment, including building production facilities in Korea.

To support the still nascent mRNA vaccine development domestically, the government has belatedly formed a consortium and is seeking support measures. It is hoped that this Korea-U.S. summit will not only be a starting point for resolving vaccine supply issues but also an opportunity to draw a future blueprint for responding to infectious diseases like COVID-19 in the long term.

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