Accelerating the Establishment of a Global Vaccine Hub... Support Briefing Session for Companies Held

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Amid the increased importance of vaccine and therapeutic development and securing raw materials triggered by COVID-19, the government held an explanatory session for companies to actively support related businesses.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare's Global Vaccine Hub Promotion Team announced on the 29th that it held an online explanatory session in the afternoon for companies developing vaccines, therapeutics, and raw materials to build a global vaccine hub.

The government has prepared a support budget of 500 billion KRW for next year to support the development of vaccines, therapeutics, and raw materials, and plans to promptly announce the project from early next year once finalized. This explanatory session was organized to explain the detailed contents of the project and future plans, helping companies and research institutions to thoroughly review and prepare in advance so they can apply for tasks without any setbacks.

The session was attended by about 130 companies currently developing COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and raw materials, approximately 35 bio-pharmaceutical research institutions including universities and research institutes, and 5 related associations. Six ministries currently supporting or planning to support COVID-19 vaccine and therapeutic development ? the Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, and Korean Intellectual Property Office ? explained 21 major support projects directly through project managers and responded to questions.

In particular, the Korean Intellectual Property Office explained patent analysis related to COVID-19 messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, including technologies used in major mRNA vaccine products, selection of key patents by process, status of patent disputes and licenses, and whether patents have entered the domestic market. They also introduced the 'priority examination system' for patents related to new COVID-19 vaccine technologies, including optimal technology protection strategies combining patents and trade secrets, to guide companies to receive patent applications more quickly.

Lee Kang-ho, head of the Global Vaccine Hub Promotion Team, said, "We will continue to operate a multifaceted support system for domestic vaccine development and make every effort for government-wide support." He added, "As with today's explanatory session, we will actively provide related information so that vaccine development companies can receive necessary support and actively identify and resolve difficulties to minimize challenges.”

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