SK Bioscience Holds First Park Man-hoon Award Ceremony

Prode Solberg, Norwegian Ambassador to Korea, Ban Ki-moon, former UN Secretary-General, Dr. Thor Godal, Jerome Kim, IVI Director-General, and Kim Hoon, CTO of SK Bioscience (from left), are posing for a commemorative photo at the Park Man-hoon Award ceremony held in Seoul on the 25th.

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] SK Bioscience announced on the 26th that it held the first Park Man-hoon Award ceremony, sponsored by the company and hosted by the International Vaccine Institute (IVI).

The first recipients of the newly established Park Man-hoon Award, selected for the first time since its inception last November, were Professor Katalin Karik? and Professor Drew Weissman of the University of Pennsylvania, who contributed to the development of messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) technology, and Dr. Tor Godal, Special Advisor of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), who led vaccine supply to developing countries.

The award ceremony held the day before at IVI in the Seoul National University Research Park, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, was attended by awardee Dr. Godal, former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, IVI Director-General Jerome Kim, Norwegian Ambassador to Korea Frode Solberg, Hungarian Ambassador to Korea and spouse Chomer Moses, SK Bioscience Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Kim Hoon, among others.

Although Professors Karik? and Weissman, who were also selected as awardees, could not attend the ceremony, they shared their acceptance speeches via video. After the ceremony, a forum was held where the awardees presented their research achievements.

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 2022 recipients of the Park Man-hoon Award (from left in the photo).

Dr. Godal, honored as the first recipient of the Park Man-hoon Award, said, “As the world experiences a pandemic, Korea plays a leading role as a country with very important vaccine development and production capabilities,” adding, “I am very honored to be selected as the inaugural recipient of the Park Man-hoon Award, hosted by IVI, which strives to promote global health, and SK Bioscience, which protects humanity through vaccine development.”

Dr. Karik? also expressed, “I am greatly honored to be selected as the first recipient of the Park Man-hoon Award. The success of mRNA vaccine technology demonstrates the power of innovation and the importance of perseverance. As a scientist who has devoted a lifetime to research, I am pleased to have contributed to the development of technology that saves millions of lives, and I look forward to its greater applications in the future.” Professor Weissman said, “I would like to thank everyone who awarded this precious prize to Dr. Karik? and me,” adding, “I hope mRNA vaccines will be utilized beyond COVID-19, including in various medical fields such as cancer cell treatment.”

Dr. Godal founded the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) and served as its first Chief Executive Officer (CEO) from 1999 to 2004, contributing to vaccination programs for children in impoverished regions. Currently, Dr. Godal serves as Special Advisor for Global Health at the Norwegian Ministry of Health and Care Services and as an advisor to CEPI, working to develop and supply vaccines to low- and middle-income countries to overcome pandemics.

Professors Karik? and Weissman jointly developed the modified mRNA technology used in mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, opening a new horizon in the vaccine industry. They developed a method to package mRNA in lipid droplets made of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) to deliver it into the human body, enabling the immune system to effectively fight diseases.

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

Jerome Kim, Director-General of IVI, said, “We are pleased to have the opportunity to award three great figures who have made monumental contributions to global disease control and vaccine development,” adding, “In memory of Dr. Park Man-hoon, we will continuously discover pioneers and innovators in the vaccine industry who strive to improve vaccines and global health.”

Kim Hoon, CTO of SK Bioscience, said, “We sincerely thank those who have dedicated themselves to protecting global public health,” adding, “As one of the researchers who spent the most time in the laboratory with Vice Chairman Park Man-hoon, I will do my best to ensure that his passion is passed on to future generations and bears fruit.”

The Park Man-hoon Award was established last November to commemorate the achievements of the late Vice Chairman Park Man-hoon of SK Bioscience, a pioneer of domestic cell culture vaccines, and to recognize domestic and international individuals and organizations that have contributed to vaccine research, development, and distribution. The first award ceremony was held on the first anniversary of Vice Chairman Park’s passing. SK Bioscience plans to contribute 200 million KRW annually as prize money and aims to make the Park Man-hoon Award the “Nobel Prize of the vaccine industry.”

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