Agreement for twice the amount of the original negotiation
The supply point is also advanced to the second quarter of next year.
A total of 56 million people are secured for contracts within the year
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety begins screening for Celltrion treatment
“Short processing time… Goal within 40 days”
President Moon Jae-in is making a video call about the Corona 19 vaccine with Stefan Bangsel Modena and Siio on the 28th. Provided by the Blue House
The Blue House announced that it has secured 20 million COVID-19 vaccines through the US pharmaceutical company Modena. Spokesman Kang Min-seok said at a briefing on the morning of the 29th, “President Moon Jae-in made a video call with Stefan Bangsel Siio (CEO, Chief Executive Officer) of Modenana from 9:53 to 10:20 last night. In a 27-minute call, President Moon and Bancel Siio have agreed to supply Korea with 40 million doses of vaccine, equivalent to 20 million people.” This is twice the amount of 20 million doses the government and Modena were negotiating. The Blue House said it is also favorably changing the domestic supply conditions of the vaccine. Spokesman Kang said, “Along with the expansion of the purchase volume, the purchase price (per dose) will also be reduced.” “We decided to accelerate the vaccine supply period. Moderna initially decided to supply the supply from the third quarter of next year, but it was decided to start from the second quarter.” In this regard, an official from the Blue House said, “At the beginning, it was difficult to conclude the contract within the year. That is, the time of the contract was advanced through yesterday’s currency.” Along with this, spokesman Kang said, “Vancel Siio said,’If the Korean government wants to sign a contract quickly, the contract will be possible within this year’.” In response, President Moon said, “I want to sign a contract within this year as much as possible.” The Blue House explained that if the contract with Modena is concluded within this year, Korea will secure 56 million Corona 19 vaccines. The reason why the Blue House directly disclosed the details of President Moon’s calls seems to be that the deteriorating public opinion caused by the’delayed controversy over vaccine introduction’ was burdensome. Initially, the government was passive in vaccinating the newly developed vaccine for safety reasons, but when the number of confirmed cases in Korea exceeded 1,000 per day and vaccination began in Singapore following the United States and the United Kingdom, the government also changed its attitude. President Moon and Bancel Siio also agreed on cooperation in vaccine development. “I know very well that large Korean companies have strong production capabilities,” said Bancel Sio. Despite the vaccine development, the production capacity was insufficient, and it will be possible to build a large-scale production capacity during consignment production,” said the Blue House. On the other hand, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced on the day that an application for permission for the item for Celltrion’s Corona 19 antibody treatment,’Rekironaju’ has been received and has begun review. This is the third case in the world to apply for approval to the licensing authorities after Lily and Regeneron. Celltrion is also in the process of obtaining approval for emergency use in the US and Europe. Rekironaju is an antibody treatment product made by selecting neutralizing antibodies present in the blood of a cure for Corona 19. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety aims to shorten the existing permit review processing period of 180 days or more and process it within 40 days. Celltrion has completed phase 2 of the multinational clinical trials approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety at the same time. The phase 3 trial will be conducted on 720 patients with mild and moderate corona19, and will be conducted regardless of the application for this permission, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety explained. By Lee Wan, staff reporter, Seo Hye-mi, [email protected]