"Vaccine Production for Future Pandemic Preparedness?"... World Bio Summit Opens on the 20th

Co-hosted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and WHO

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on the 19th that it will hold the "2023 World Bio Summit (WORLD BIO SUMMIT 2023)" at the Conrad Hotel in Seoul over two days on the 20th and 21st, under the theme "Strengthening Pandemic Response Capabilities: Preparedness of Workforce, Enterprises, and Civil Society," in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO).

The World Bio Summit is an event where the Korean government, aiming to become a global hub in biohealth, invites global leaders in the bio sector to discuss international cooperation measures. This is the second edition of the summit, following its inaugural event last year.

This year marks the end of the international public health emergency (PHEIC) status for COVID-19. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has ended, there is a growing need to proactively establish health response systems for pandemic overcoming, including diagnostic capabilities for new infectious diseases, vaccines, and therapeutics. This need arises from lessons learned during the COVID-19 response.

At this year’s World Bio Summit, the main focus is expected to be on expanding international-level vaccine production and development capabilities to prepare for future pandemics. Topics will include training specialized vaccine production personnel, regulatory innovation, financial support measures, and the necessity of vaccine production and research cooperation by continent. A Ministry of Health and Welfare official stated, “Now that the global health crisis has subsided, it is an appropriate time to expand production and development capabilities for vaccines and therapeutics and to establish a global supply chain.”

On the first day of the event, discussions will focus on strengthening production and regulatory surveillance of vaccines, pharmaceuticals, and diagnostic devices to enhance pandemic response capabilities, with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) participating as a partner organization. This is expected to provide insights for low- and middle-income countries considering the introduction of pharmaceutical regulatory systems or preparing to advance to sophisticated regulatory systems. On the final day, global therapeutic development strategies will be shared, and ways to maximize each country’s capabilities through regional cooperation at each stage of therapeutic research and development will be explored.

During the World Bio Summit, the Korean government will also hold bilateral meetings with key overseas figures. Park Min-su, the 2nd Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, will meet Abdulaziz bin Hamad bin Saleh Al-Ramaih, Deputy Minister for Planning and Development of the Saudi Ministry of Health, to discuss major ongoing cooperation efforts such as medical personnel training and attracting Saudi patients. Meetings are also planned with high-ranking overseas officials including deputy ministers of health from Ukraine and Laos, and the chairperson of the Board of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.

More than 200 participants, including heads of international organizations, corporate representatives from various countries, and health ministers, will attend this World Bio Summit.

Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyu-hong said, “Through this World Bio Summit, I hope it will serve as a constructive opportunity to reaffirm the importance of global cooperation for future pandemic response, to build a safe health system against threats to human health, and to encourage continuous attention and action for infectious disease response.”

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