SK Bioscience and International Vaccine Institute Announce First Recipients of the 'Park Man-hoon Award'

'Vaccine Industry Nobel Prize' Initiative
Award Ceremony on 25th Next Month

Professors Kariko and Weissman... Developed mRNA Packaging Technology
Dr. Godal... Promoted Vaccine Distribution in Low- and Middle-Income Countries through GAVI Activities

Catalin Kariko and Drew Weissman, professors at the University of Pennsylvania, and Tore Godal, Special Advisor (Ph.D.) at the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), were selected as the recipients of the Park Man-hoon Award in 2022 (from left in the photo).

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] The first recipients of the "Park Man-hoon Award," known as the "Nobel Prize of the vaccine industry," sponsored by SK Bioscience and hosted by the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), have been announced.

SK Bioscience and IVI announced on the 24th that the 2022 Park Man-hoon Award recipients are Professors Katalin Karik? and Drew Weissman of the University of Pennsylvania, and Dr. Tore Godal, Special Advisor to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).

The Park Man-hoon Award was established last November to honor the achievements of the late Park Man-hoon, Vice Chairman of SK Bioscience and a pioneer of cell culture vaccines in Korea, and to recognize domestic and international individuals and organizations that have contributed to vaccine research, development, and distribution. The inaugural award ceremony will be held on the 25th of next month, marking the first anniversary of Vice Chairman Park's passing.

Professors Karik? and Weissman were selected for their joint development of modified messenger RNA (mRNA) technology used in Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna's COVID-19 vaccines, opening a new horizon in the vaccine industry.

Professor Karik?, a biochemist, serves as Senior Vice President at BioNTech and Adjunct Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Pennsylvania. Together with Professor Weissman, she developed a method to package mRNA in lipid droplets made of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) to deliver it into the human body. This method enables mRNA to successfully reach the necessary parts of the body, prompting the immune system to effectively fight diseases. The two professors were recognized for their groundbreaking advancement in infectious disease prevention technologies, including COVID-19 vaccines.

Dr. Godal served as the founding CEO of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) from 1999 to 2004, securing $750 million (approximately 914.3 billion KRW) in funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to operate immunization programs for children in impoverished regions. Through this program, over 888 million children were vaccinated between 2000 and 2020. The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF estimate that GAVI's efforts have saved more than 15 million lives. Dr. Godal currently serves as Special Advisor for Global Health to the Norwegian Ministry of Health and Care Services and as Special Advisor to CEPI, working to supply vaccines to low- and middle-income countries to prevent infectious disease pandemics.

The late Park Man-hoon, Vice Chairman of SK Bioscience

SK Bioscience and IVI have formed a selection committee of eight experts, including the IVI Secretary-General, to institutionalize the Park Man-hoon Award as the most prestigious prize in the vaccine field. Through the committee's review, individuals and organizations with significant achievements in the global vaccine industry will be nominated once a year to determine the award recipients. SK Bioscience contributes 200 million KRW annually as prize money.

Jerome Kim, Secretary-General of IVI, said, "We sincerely congratulate the recipients of the Park Man-hoon Award and once again thank them for their roles in the development and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. We will continue to actively cooperate with SK Bioscience to promote vaccine research for various infectious diseases and to sustainably foster the vaccine industry through the Park Man-hoon Award."

Jaeyong Ahn, President of SK Bioscience, stated, "SK Bioscience is doing its best to overcome the pandemic through the development of our own COVID-19 vaccine and global COVID-19 vaccine contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) business, aiming to protect global public health. We will faithfully carry out our role to ensure the development and smooth supply of vaccines, inheriting the spirit of the late Vice Chairman Park."

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