[Reporter’s Notebook] "From Now On," Biosecurity Must Be Taken Seriously

On the afternoon of the 4th (local time), during the 2024 BIO International Convention (BIO USA) held at the San Diego Convention Center in the United States, three presidential office officials, including Wang Yoon-jong, the 3rd Deputy Director of the National Security Office, entered wearing black suits. As they toured the exhibition halls, dozens of Korean reporters and attendees followed them. While walking toward the Korean pavilion, Deputy Director Wang said, "Until now, bio has not been viewed from a security perspective. From now on, I feel the need to consider it from the perspective of health security."

This was the first time a national security official from the presidential office visited the BIO USA site. They visited the exhibition hall while attending the launch ceremony of the Korea-US-Japan-India-EU bio-pharmaceutical alliance meeting to discuss strengthening the bio-pharmaceutical supply chain. Wang and his party also entered the booth of Lonza, a Swiss contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), and inquired about supply chain safety.

There were more moments that made this BIO USA feel like a 'defense' rather than a 'pharmaceutical' expo. The keynote dialogue partner of the BIO, the American Bio Association (BIO) chairman who hosted the event, was a retired Navy admiral. They discussed the importance of bio companies in national security. At the session titled 'Partnering with the U.S. Government to Achieve National Security Missions,' a former U.S. Air Force general who is now the White House official responsible for infectious disease response gave a lecture.

Thus, this expo combined the seemingly unrelated words 'security' (defense) and 'bio' (pharmaceutical) into one event. The reason is the security conflict between the U.S. and China. Until before COVID-19, BIO USA was used as a venue for China’s bio rise, with Chinese local governments directly setting up large-scale pavilions. Even in 2022, when the reporter began covering BIO USA, a global Chinese CDMO company opened a large pavilion in a prime location. However, this year, Wuxi Biologics did not participate, and the spot was taken by our company, SK Pharmteco. This was due to the U.S. emphasizing 'biosecurity' and tightening regulations on the Chinese bio industry.

Choi Seon, Deputy Minister of Advanced Bio, and Wang Yunjong, Third Deputy Director of the National Security Office (from left in the front row), along with other personnel from the Presidential Office, visited the booth of Lonza, a Swiss Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) company, at the San Diego Convention Center in California, USA, where the BIO International Convention (BIO USA) is being held, and received a briefing on the current status from the officials.
[Photo by Lee Chunhee]

A few years ago, 'biosecurity' was a term related to infectious disease prevention. During the COVID-19 pandemic, as countries competed to secure vaccines and treatments, it became a familiar concept to us. Currently, biosecurity has advanced further. As human genome information is combined with drug development, information security issues related to biological data have emerged, and the concept has expanded to include the stable supply chain of pharmaceuticals, encompassing the idea of 'maintaining the lives of the people.' It has become a 'war fought with genes and pharmaceuticals instead of guns and swords.'

Deputy Director Wang’s remarks showed the presidential office’s intention to directly manage biosecurity. However, bio industry insiders who heard this on-site focused on the phrase 'from now on,' saying it was a complacent and belated recognition. President Yoon Seok-yeol has consistently emphasized fostering the bio industry since his candidacy. However, most related policies have been handled from an economic perspective. There are also many necessary but stalled policies. Even when the bio industry suggested support for late-stage clinical trials and tax credits for pharmaceutical manufacturing plants, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Strategy and Finance rejected them citing 'trade friction' and 'special privileges.' If President Yoon intends to view the bio industry from a security perspective 'even if only now,' bold support must be implemented.