On the 8th, in front of the screening clinic at Seoul Medical Center in Jungnang-gu, Seoul, citizens are waiting to get tested as Seoul City began free proactive COVID-19 testing for the general public to prevent community cluster infections caused by asymptomatic COVID-19 carriers. This measure by Seoul City aims to identify "silent spreaders" through active proactive testing amid increasing sporadic infections with unclear transmission routes, including asymptomatic cases. Citizens can apply through the Seoul City website and visit designated municipal hospitals to receive free testing. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@
[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] New coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine and therapeutic candidate substances developed by public research institutions in South Korea will be transferred to private companies for development. In the case of the vaccine, it shows 3 to 5 times higher protective efficacy than the currently developed antigen vaccines, and in the case of the therapeutic agent, it demonstrates 50 times higher efficacy than Remdesivir, a leading COVID-19 treatment substance. The research institutions and companies will develop these into new drugs through clinical and other procedures in the future.
3 to 5 times higher neutralizing antibody ability, 50 times higher therapeutic efficacy
The 17th Seoul International Dental Equipment Exhibition (SIDEX 2020) is being held on the 5th at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The Seoul Metropolitan Government recently issued an emergency gathering restriction order for the SIDEX event, stating that holding large-scale events is inappropriate amid concerns over the spread of local infections due to a recent cluster of COVID-19 cases in the metropolitan area. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@
The New Virus Fusion Research Group under the Ministry of Science and ICT (host institution: Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology) held a technology transfer agreement ceremony for COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostic devices on the 9th.
Through this event, the research group transferred the technology of a high-efficacy COVID-19 vaccine candidate substance developed in-house to HK Innoen (formerly CJ Healthcare). This candidate substance is a vaccine material synthesized with antigen and exhibits excellent neutralizing antibody ability, which indicates vaccine efficacy. Neutralizing antibodies are antibodies that bind to the surface of virus particles to prevent viral infection. Neutralizing antibody ability refers to the capacity to eliminate the infectivity of the virus.
The research group reported that when this substance was administered to cells and laboratory mice, it showed 3 to 5 times higher neutralizing antibody ability compared to the antigen vaccines currently under development. A high neutralizing antibody ability means it can neutralize infections even in severe patients. The research group and HK Innoen will conduct joint research for preclinical and clinical trials in the future.
The COVID-19 therapeutic candidate substance will be transferred to LegoChem Biosciences. The goal is to develop it as a universal coronavirus therapeutic. This candidate substance was selected from 200,000 compounds at the Korea Chemical Bank and has been developed as a therapeutic agent for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) for the past four years. Since COVID-19 and MERS originate from the same viral family, the research group explained that it could be used as a universal therapeutic agent for coronaviruses.
The efficacy of this substance was found to be about 50 times higher than Remdesivir, which has been granted emergency use authorization as a COVID-19 treatment in the United States. Additionally, this substance is evaluated to have excellent drug properties and physical characteristics while exhibiting low toxicity, making it highly likely to be developed as a new drug. LegoChem Biosciences plans to quickly complete preclinical studies and proceed to clinical trials.
Technology transfer of diagnostic devices leading to overseas exports
Im Mi-hye, President of the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology
The substances being transferred this time are different from the vaccine and therapeutic candidate substances currently under development, which aim for release in the second half of next year. The Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology stated, "The candidate substances being transferred this time are different from those that the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency and other government bodies have announced are being developed with urgency," and added, "It is expected that the development speed will accelerate significantly through collaboration with the private sector."
In addition, the research group held a technology transfer ceremony for COVID-19 molecular diagnostic technology urgently transferred to Wells Bio, which has led to overseas exports. This technology targets the genes (N, RdRp) of COVID-19 for diagnostic devices. Currently, Wells Bio produces diagnostic kits using this technology and exports them to countries such as Malaysia. They have also applied for emergency use authorization from the U.S. FDA and the World Health Organization (WHO). Separately, Wells Bio developed molecular diagnostic kits with technical support from the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology. These diagnostic kits received emergency use authorization for diagnostic reagents from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on the 28th of last month.
Im Mi-hye, President of the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, said, "This research result is a valuable outcome achieved quietly by our researchers despite everyone adapting to social distancing in daily life due to the domestic inflow of COVID-19," and added, "We hope that this agreement ceremony will accelerate the development of vaccines and therapeutics to eradicate the virus."
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