Korean vaccine technology lags behind China… The reality revealed by corona

In February of last year, a new coronavirus infection (Corona 19) spread to a pandemic (a global pandemic), and responding to infectious diseases emerged as one of the nation’s core competencies. As Korea succeeded in early quarantine, it has established itself as a’corona 19 model responder’. However, over time, we have realized that the development of vaccines and treatments is far more important than quarantine. Korea is now classified as a’vaccine underdeveloped country’ as it lags behind in vaccine development and even distribution of vaccines is delayed.

According to the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology Evaluation, as of 2018, Korea’s technology to respond to new and mutant infectious diseases was 5 years behind the world’s highest levels of the United States and the European Union (EU). It is 2.5 years behind Japan and a year behind China.

Experts believe that three years later, the gap has hardly narrowed. Lee Seung-gyu, executive vice chairman of the Bio Association, said, “Some companies such as Celltrion are producing results, but it is true that Korea’s pharmaceutical and medical industry technology is still not at the global level,” he said.

Not only the United States, the United Kingdom, but also Russia have successfully developed their own vaccines and are even exporting them. China is also suspicious of the scientific community, but has developed its own vaccine. The Korean vaccine is expected to be released only after next year.

Professor Yoon Young-ho of Seoul National University College of Medicine said, “The US and others have invested for more than 10 years to develop a messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccine.” did.

The lack of research manpower, the government is low enrollment… Vaccine self-sufficiency rate 100% in Japan vs 50% in Korea
Government, corporate research support’behind the scenes’… Prefer only getting cheap vaccines

The epidemic of the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) is changing the paradigm of vaccine development worldwide. As countries bet on the development of vaccines, various types of vaccines are pouring out at once.

Modena, Pfizer, and Bioentech of Germany are the first to commercialize messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines. The UK and Russia also succeeded in developing a virus vector vaccine. China has also developed viral vector vaccines and protein recombinant vaccines. However, the Korean Corona 19 vaccine is expected to come out only a year later. It is evaluated that the gap with the’vaccine hegemony’ has widened for at least two years.

Corona vaccination in 77 countries

According to Bloomberg, 77 countries started vaccinating against Corona 19 as of the 14th. The United States, China, and Britain, as well as Africa, Egypt, Guinea, Mauritius, etc. have also started vaccination. Two months after the Pfizer vaccine was first vaccinated in the UK in December last year, the world was vaccinated with 172 million doses of the Corona 19 vaccine.

However, except for USFK officials, no one has received the Corona 19 vaccine in Korea. This is because pharmaceutical companies such as Modena, Pfizer, and AstraZeneca have signed a vaccine purchase contract for 79 million people, but the primary supply has not entered Korea. The speed of domestic vaccine development is also slow. There are no domestic products that have entered the phase 3 clinical trial in humans, which is the last stage of vaccine development.

On the other hand, there are 10 products worldwide that have completed phase 3 clinical trials or have been approved for use by country in phase 3 phase. The U.S., U.K., as well as Russia, China, and India each approved the use of vaccines developed in their own country. Professor Yoon Young-ho of Seoul National University College of Medicine said, “It is important to establish a vaccine platform that can overcome infectious diseases because mutations in the Corona 19 virus occur and new infectious diseases can be prevalent at any time.”

The pain of losing vaccination sovereignty

The importance of domestic vaccines can be seen through the 2009 H1N1 flu crisis. At the time, there was also a situation where there was a risk of a global pandemic of the H1N1 flu, but the situation was resolved by securing sufficient vaccines early in the UK and Germany. Initially, Korea also secured only 1.3 million vaccines that could fit 2.7% of the people, but in July of that year, the problem was resolved when GC Green Cross produced a vaccine at the Hwasun plant in Jeollanam-do. As the domestic vaccination began in October, and Tamiflu, the treatment, was spread, the fear gradually disappeared.

However, it was different during the MERS outbreak, which killed 39 people in 2015. Jinwon Life Sciences, SK Chemicals, and Green Cross were struggling to develop a MERS vaccine, but they did not succeed. This is because there was no government support and it was difficult to find patients for clinical trials because the epidemic ended early. MERS, like Corona 19, belongs to the coronavirus, so if Korea succeeded in developing a vaccine at the time, it could lead the global vaccine development competition this time.

Lack of skills and talent

It is an evaluation that the corona 19 epidemic has shown the current status of the domestic vaccine industry. The vaccine self-sufficiency rate in the United States, Britain, Japan, etc. reaches 100%, while the domestic self-sufficiency rate is only 50%. This is because Korea is still in its infancy compared to Western countries with a deep biotechnology history.

The government’s policy of favoring only obtaining cheap vaccines rather than supporting corporate R&D has exacerbated this situation. By emphasizing only the role of the public rather than the function of the market, only the ultra-low-priced bidding market expanded, deteriorating the quality and management environment of vaccines. In November of last year, in the distribution process, a large amount of flu vaccine was exposed to room temperature and discarded. In 1993, with the expansion of the public vaccine business, the number of vaccine companies sharply decreased from 17 to 5, and the policy was changed to restore market function. The bidding system has been changed to give high prices for good vaccines, and the vaccine developer’s tax is also reduced.

The human resources to be devoted to vaccine development are also in short supply. Every year, the best talented people in Korea come to medical schools, but the shortage of research personnel continues. Doctors who are familiar with the clinical environment are devoted to medical treatment and high-quality biotech personnel are leaving abroad. A system in which health insurance monopolizes the supply of medical services to control prices also encourages a manpower focus. As the structure became a structure that makes profits based on quantity rather than quality of care, doctors who are devoted to vaccine development in medical institutions where profits are made by increasing the amount of treatment have disappeared.

There is also a desperate need for policies to foster doctors’ venture start-ups. Professor Kim Sang-eun of Seoul National University College of Medicine said, “The US helps doctors start up technology through venture investments.”

Reporter Jihyun Lee [email protected]