[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] The government has decided to actively support the development of treatments and vaccines for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).
On the 10th, Ahn Il-hwan, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, visited Genexine located in Bundang, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, and confirmed the vaccine development research site, stating this. Genexine began industry-academia-research collaboration in April to develop a COVID-19 vaccine and is currently developing a domestic vaccine targeting the second half of 2021.
At the site, Vice Minister Ahn said, "To protect the lives and safety of the people and minimize the economic impact caused by COVID-19, early development of treatments and vaccines is of utmost importance."
He continued, "We will ensure that promising candidate substances currently under development swiftly proceed with clinical trials and that the support budget allocated in this supplementary budget will be executed early," adding, "We hope that the development of treatments and vaccines that lead the world and reassure the public will be achieved."
Meanwhile, on the 3rd, the government allocated 111.5 billion won in the third supplementary budget to support the discovery of treatment and vaccine candidates and the entire cycle of clinical trials.
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