[A summarized unofficial version of the press release]

Global healthcare leaders gather to discuss future pandemic response and therapeutics and vaccine development at World Bio Summit 2023

- KDCA commissioner addresses the event and KDCA jointly organizes a session on therapeutics and vaccine development

- KDCA holds a bilateral meeting with Gavi and UKHSA to discuss collaboration for infectious disease preparedness and response

Osong, 21^st November 2023 ━ The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) organized and moderated the session titled “Accelerating Pandemic Therapeutics Development and Manufacturing” as a partner organization at the World Health Bio Summit 2023, co-hosted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The KDCA also had a bilateral meeting with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on the sideline of the event.

The World Bio Summit, driven by the Korean government as a global hub for the bio-health field, is an annual international event where global healthcare leaders from governments, the private sector, and international organizations are invited to share their insights on strategies for global cooperation in the field.

During the opening ceremony on the first day of the event, Youngmee Jee, commissioner of KDCA, delivered a keynote speech titled “R&D Strategies to Address Emerging Infectious Diseases in Korea.” In her speech, she introduced Korea’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and underscored the need of institutional and research infrastructure and global cooperation that enable rapid development of therapeutics and vaccine in a battle against future pandemics.

The program on the second day is largely comprised of two sessions that focused on therapeutics and vaccine, respectively. In the therapeutics session titled “Accelerating Pandemic Therapeutics Development and Manufacturing,” Heechang Jang, Director General of Korea National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) delivered an opening remark and Laurent Muschel, Acting Director-General of European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (EU HERA), moderated presentations and discussions on six topics.

The therapeutic session is broken into three parts. For the first part of the session under the theme of “Strengthening Capacities for Pandemic Infectious Diseases Response,” Carmen Pérez Casas, Senior Strategy Lead and Head of Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response (PPPR) of Unitaid, and Jicui Dong, Unit Head of Local Production & Assistance of the Department of Regulation and Prequalification (RPQ) of WHO acted as moderators.

During the second part of the session themed “Next Pandemic Preparedness: The Recent Trends for Therapeutics Development, Manufacturing and Supply Diversified Strategy for Global Therapeutics Research Cooperation”, there were four presentations given by four speakers as follows: Hyunsang Muk, President & CEO of Korea Drug Development Fund (KDDF) Foundation, Seamus O'Brien, R&D Director of Global Antibiotic Research & Development Partnership (GARDP), Sooyoung Lee, Senior Vice President, Celltrion Inc. and Petro Terblanche, CEO of Afrigen Biologics.

During the session’s last part titled “Global Cooperation for Accelerating the Therapeutics Development and Strengthening Capacities,” all panels of the session including Hayato Urabe, Associate Vice President of Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) Fund discoursed about therapeutics development strategies and had in-depth discussions on ways of collaboration to strengthen R&D capabilities for therapeutics of each country.

The vaccine session started with Inkyu Yoon, Director Programmes and Innovative Technology of Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). Kate Kelland, Chief Scientific Writer of CEPI presided over presentations and discussions as a moderator on seven topics during the session themed “Strengthening Global Preparedness Through CEPI’s 100-Day Mission.”

In addition, an invitation-only workshop was held between CEPI and Korea as a side event on the second day. In this session, speakers from Korean companies shared its vaccine development research to facilitate collaborative R&D efforts on vaccine development between CEPI and Korean researchers.  

On the sideline of the event, on Nov. 20, the KDCA commissioner met with Isabel Oliver, Chief Scientific Advisor Transition Lead of UKHSA to navigate possible areas of collaboration between the two agencies. On Nov. 21, the commissioner held bilateral talks with Marie-Ange Saraka Yao, Chief Resource Mobilisation & Growth Officer of Gavi to exchange their visions and views on the way forward for bilateral collaboration. On Nov. 22, UKHSA Chief Scientific Advisor paid a visit to KDCA headquarters to look for potential areas of bilateral collaboration including infectious disease preparedness and response.

NIID Director General Heechang Jang noted, “This event will serve as a meaningful venue to explore strategies for global therapeutics development to address future pandemics, and produce tangible outcomes including global cooperation plans for accelerating pandemic therapeutics development and manufacturing.”

KDCA Commissioner Youngmee Jee said, “This valuable event will offer a valuable opportunity to seek ways for Korea to join global efforts for therapeutics and vaccine research, development and manufacturing to successfully respond to emerging infectious diseases as well as implement infection prevention and control (IPC) intervention, thereby eventually contributing to strengthening global health security.” 

* For detailed information, please refer to the press release written in the Korean language in the file attached below.