Welfare Ministry: "US Cyteiva's Domestic Investment Contributes to Becoming a Global Vaccine Hub" (Comprehensive)

17 Korean and US Companies and Research Institutes Collaborate on Joint Vaccine Development and Raw Material Supply

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] The government expects that the domestic investment by the U.S. life sciences company Cytiva will contribute to South Korea's leap as a global vaccine hub. Additionally, 17 vaccine-related companies and research institutions from Korea and the U.S. agreed to collaborate on joint vaccine development, raw material supply, and more to overcome the global infectious disease crisis together.

The government announced on the 22nd that on the 21st (local time) in New York, USA, where the United Nations (UN) General Assembly is being held, a "Korea-U.S. Vaccine Cooperation Agreement Signing Ceremony" was held with President Moon Jae-in in attendance, emphasizing the need to solidify vaccine cooperation between Korea and the U.S. across all government and private sectors going forward.

This event was organized to concretize cooperation plans between Korean and U.S. vaccine companies and research institutions and to explore ways to overcome the global health crisis through solidarity and cooperation in the private sector.

At the Korea-U.S. Vaccine Cooperation Agreement Signing Ceremony, Cytiva, a global life sciences company producing vaccine raw materials, submitted an investment notification for establishing production facilities for high value-added cell culture vaccines in Korea. The investment scale is $52.5 million (approximately 62.16 billion KRW) over three years from 2022 to 2024.

This is the first case since the COVID-19 pandemic where a global raw material company has reported investment in production facilities in Korea. The Ministry of Health and Welfare expects this investment to contribute not only to establishing a stable supply chain for vaccine raw materials but also to South Korea's advancement as a global vaccine hub.

Furthermore, at the Korea-U.S. Vaccine Cooperation Agreement Signing Ceremony, representatives from 17 vaccine-related companies and research institutions from Korea and the U.S. attended and signed four memorandums of understanding (MOUs) between companies on raw material supply, joint vaccine development, contract manufacturing, and infectious disease response research cooperation, as well as four MOUs between research institutions.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare explained that this achievement shows that cooperation projects between Korea and the U.S. have been actively progressing since the establishment of the Korea-U.S. Global Vaccine Partnership in May. It also emphasized the significance of the expansion of cooperation subjects to small and medium-sized enterprises, diversification of cooperation areas including raw material cooperation, joint vaccine development, and contract manufacturing, and the development of cooperation directions into bilateral technology cooperation and raw material import/export.

At the subsequent Korea-U.S. Global Vaccine Business Roundtable, representatives from 12 vaccine companies from both countries gathered to share the importance of cooperation among governments and international organizations to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic.

From Korea, UbioLogics, iGene, Cureatis, PharmGen Science, ST Pharm, and Genexine participated, while from the U.S., Cytiva, Ajuvans Technology, TriLink, HDT Bio, Ivy Pharma, and Access Bio attended.

Each company exchanged opinions on expanding vaccine production through technology cooperation, stable supply measures for vaccine raw materials that have recently faced supply difficulties, and cooperation plans for COVID-19 vaccines and next-generation vaccine development.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Attending the event were Minister of Health and Welfare Kwon Deok-cheol, Director-General of Trade Negotiations at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy Yeo Han-gu, President of the Korea Health Industry Development Institute Kwon Soon-man, and Director of Innovation Growth at KOTRA Kim Sang-mook. Richard Hatchett, CEO of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), participated via video for the keynote speech.

In his keynote speech, CEPI CEO Hatchett explained efforts to increase COVID-19 vaccine production and equitable distribution, expressing expectations that the operation of the COVAX marketplace and linkage with the Korea-U.S. Global Vaccine Partnership will further promote global vaccine production and supply.

Minister Kwon explained Korea's efforts to build a global vaccine hub and investment plans (22 trillion KRW over five years), emphasizing, "To overcome the global infectious disease crisis together, vaccine cooperation between Korea and the U.S. must be solidified across all government and private sectors."

Minister Kwon stated, "Cooperation between Korean companies with world-class pharmaceutical production capabilities and U.S. companies possessing the world's best vaccine development technologies will be an excellent example of solidarity and cooperation to overcome crises in the pandemic era."

Director-General Yeo chaired the dialogue among Korea-U.S. vaccine companies, listening to various opinions on difficulties faced by vaccine companies and necessary government support, emphasizing whole-of-government support for advancing Korea's vaccine industry, attracting investment from leading global vaccine companies, and strengthening global cooperation in the vaccine field to help Korea leap as a global vaccine hub.

He added, "We plan to support vaccine R&D, workforce training, improvement of production infrastructure, expansion of tax and financial incentives for foreign investment attraction, and joint entry of Korea-U.S. vaccine companies into third countries utilizing Korea's free trade agreement (FTA) network."

The Ministry of Science and ICT stated, "Through the signing of MOUs between research institutions this time, a foundation has been established to solidify Korea-U.S. R&D cooperation systems," adding, "We will continuously develop the cooperative relationship to strengthen R&D capabilities for vaccine development and response to new and emerging infectious diseases."