ⓒ YONHAP News

South Korean researchers have developed candidate substances for COVID-19 treatment and vaccines and have transferred them to private companies. Here’s economic commentator Chung Chul-jin to explain the ongoing efforts to develop COVID-19 treatments and vaccines in South Korea and abroad and their potential effects.

The Convergence for Emerging Virus Infection (CEVI) Convergence Research Group of the National Institute of Science and Technology has conducted extensive research on COVID-19 treatments and vaccines. The research group has transferred a vaccine candidate substance to HK inno.N, formerly known as CJ Healthcare. The group has also transferred a candidate material for the virus treatment to another private firm, LegoChem Biosciences. While the state-funded research group has been dedicated to vaccine and treatment development, it’s time for private companies to release them as new products.

Consisting of government-funded research institutes, including the Korea Institute of Chemical Technology, the research group transferred technology related to COVID-19 treatment and vaccine to private companies on June 9.

The candidate material for treatment certainly merits attention. Testing on monkey kidney cells showed a remarkable result. The antiviral effect of the new substance was about 50 times higher than that of Remdesivir, which is an antiviral medication already in use for COVID-19 treatment. South Korea aims to release home-made treatments as early as next year and vaccines in 2024.

With South Korea joining the race to develop COVID-19 treatments and vaccines, the global competition in this area is getting even more intense.

Many countries around the world, including the U.S., Britain, Germany, China and Japan, are rushing to develop treatments and vaccines for the virus. American biotech company Moderna is ahead of others in the field of vaccine candidate substances. Its goal is to complete Phase 3 clinical trials by the end of this year and release vaccines in the market in 2021. Meanwhile, AstraZeneca has partnered with Oxford University to produce a COVID-19 vaccine. The British multinational pharmaceutical company says that its Phase 1 trials were successful and it will produce visible results in September. China has also jumped onto the bandwagon, saying that it has advanced to Phase 2 trials. Chinese President Xi Jinping has mentioned his nation’s achievement in vaccine development at the two major domestic political events and also during the World Health Assembly.

World powers have been enthusiastic about the COVID-19 treatment and vaccine development. This is as politics, society and the economy all around the world have been brought to a halt due to the unprecedented coronavirous pandemic.

On June 10, the U.S. government said that Moderna would begin Phase 3 trials for its vaccine in July, followed by Oxford-AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson in August and September, respectively. Phase 3 clinical trials are the final stage of verifying the safety and effectiveness of a vaccine before it is rolled out to the market.

China, where COVID-19 originated, reported on June 8 that the Institute of Microbiology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences started conducting human clinical trials of its antibody medicine. Russia, another science powerhouse, is also accelerating vaccine development. Countries that win this competition will be able to raise their economic and social status significantly.

The successful development of effective medicines will generate enormous economic effects and enhance the brand awareness of the developer and its country. It’s like a golden goose. If the past is any guide, an antiviral drug called Tamiflu proved effective in treating H1N1 influenza, which broke out in 2009. Gilead, the developer, had been a small company before it invented the drug. But it grew considerably with this single medicine.

Gilead started as a small venture firm in 1987. Thanks to the successful development of Tamiflu, the company’s market capitalization stands at around 96 billion US dollars as of June 5. South Korea is known for its effective countermeasures against COVID-19. If the country succeeds in developing vaccines or treatments for the highly contagious disease, it will be able to establish itself as a global bio-health powerhouse.

Many countries praise South Korea for its comprehensive approach to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak. The added value of the so-called K-quarantine response is substantial, of course, but that of K-bio will be even more sizable.

In the aftermath of the pandemic, South Korea was expected to see its exports fall sharply. But it turned out that Korean-made medicines, medical equipment and even cosmetics products were selling well abroad. The nation’s successful handling of the epidemic elevated the value of its national brand and that of its companies and products as well.

So far, South Korea’s growth engine has been the IT industry, centered on semiconductors. If the country manages to develop COVID-19 medicine or vaccines, it will have another growth engine in the bio and health area.

Thanks to South Korea’s swift and effective response to COVID-19, Korean medical equipment has seen explosive demand overseas. According to the Korea Customs Service, exports of medicine and medical supplies increased a whopping 136 percent during the first ten days of June. To take a step further, the successful development of COVID-19 treatments or vaccines will enable Korea to explore a new growth engine. To this end, the nation should make an all-out effort.

The government, the private sector and academia should all join forces. They are making great efforts, of course. But relevant budgets or funds are rather inadequate. The government’s swift and bold support is essential. I do hope that South Korea will develop effective vaccines and treatments for COVID-19.

Global pharmaceutical companies in the U.S. and the U.K. have entered Phase 3 clinical trials, so COVID-19 vaccines could be developed as early as the end of this year. We hope South Korea will also come up with prompt and proactive measures to contribute to eliminating the virus.