"Over 10,000 Submit Letters of Intent to Participate in COVID-19 Vaccine and Treatment Clinical Trials"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The number of people in South Korea who have expressed their willingness to participate in clinical trials for COVID-19 treatments and vaccines has surpassed 10,000.

According to the National Clinical Trial Support Foundation on the 19th, as of the 13th, the total number of submissions of intention to participate in COVID-19 clinical trials reached 10,710 (7,640 for vaccines and 5,838 for treatments, with some overlap).

This is interpreted as a result of increased public interest in additional vaccination clinical trials for domestically developed COVID-19 vaccines and oral COVID-19 treatment clinical trials currently under development.

South Korea holds a 3.5% share of global pharmaceutical clinical trials, ranking 6th worldwide, but the number of clinical trial participants remains within the top 20 globally. This is due to negative perceptions of clinical trials, with limited information and concerns about side effects cited as causes.

The number of consultations at the "Clinical Trial Participation Support Counseling Center," established to provide information related to clinical trials, has also surpassed 10,000. The foundation currently operates the "COVID-19 Clinical Trial Portal" and the Clinical Trial Participation Support Counseling Center to assist in recruiting participants for COVID-19 vaccine and treatment clinical trials.

As a result, the foundation connected a total of 1,868 prospective participants to SK Bioscience's COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials phases 1, 2, and 3. Additionally, it supported the registration of participants for phase 3 clinical trials of oral COVID-19 treatments being developed by Ildong Pharmaceutical and Shinpung Pharmaceutical, connecting a total of 468 participants for phase 3 trials.

Byun Byeong-jun, chairman of the National Clinical Trial Support Foundation, stated, "We are striving to create a convenient clinical trial environment by providing various incentives to participants and allowing them to choose the clinical trial and institution they prefer." He added, "Going forward, we will expand the disease-specific clinical trial participation matching platform to make it easier for patients with various diseases to participate in clinical trials."