The recent news about Korean companies, including Hanmi Science, forming a consortium to manufacture Covid-19 mRNA vaccines drew investors’ attention to some local pharmaceutical and biotech companies.
Industry officials said on Wednesday that the government held a meeting to push for the development of homegrown Covid-19 mRNA vaccines, where over 10 domestic drugmakers attended. The companies included Hanmi Science, the parent firm of Hanmi Pharmaceutical, and GeneOne Life Science, they said.
An official at a pharmaceutical company said the consortium started to take shape after the government-led meeting of industry officials, scholars, and researchers. “The government initiated the discussion with related companies to make mRNA vaccines self-sufficient,” he said, requesting anonymity.
He went on to say that the government took a dual-track strategy regarding Covid-19 vaccines. One is to make Korea an Asian hub to manufacture Covid-19 vaccines through contract manufacturing organization (CMO) deals, and the other is to develop Korean-made mRNA technology, he said.
“The latest meeting aimed the latter,” he added.
The government’s push for mRNA development was also reflected in President Moon Jae-in’s special address to mark four years in office on May 10, the official noted.
“We will provide all available support to develop homegrown vaccines to secure vaccine sovereignty, bracing for a protracted Covid-19 pandemic,” Moon said. “At the same time, full support will be rendered so that Korea will become a global hub for vaccine production on the foundation of the world’s second-largest biopharmaceutical manufacturing capacity.”
The official added that the government seemed to be speeding up support for vaccine developers as Korean people increasingly asked for homegrown Covid-19 vaccines.
Industry watchers said that the latest government-led meeting was closely related to the mRNA vaccine committee meeting results under the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH).
Earlier on Friday, CDSCH said in a regular Covid-19 briefing that it conducted the demand survey on vaccine developers to identify the status of mRNA vaccine development at each company, the need for mRNA technology, and difficulties in vaccine development. Seventeen companies submitted their responses to the survey to the government.
Kwon Joon-wook, deputy director of the CDSCH, said, “The survey showed that the government needed to support the production of raw materials, technology for stabilizing mRNA vaccines, drug delivery systems such as lipid nanoparticles (LNP), and vector technology for vaccine manufacturing.”
Seventeen companies participated in the poll, but there could be more who want government support for mRNA technology development, Kwon said.
More specifically, four companies aim to conduct trials of mRNA technology within this year, and seven, to start research next year, he added.
Then, on Monday, the CDSCH held a meeting of the mRNA vaccine committee to decide how the government can support local mRNA technology development and which companies should get state support.
The government’s needs to secure homegrown mRNA technology have been met with the pharmaceutical industry’s endeavor to develop mRNA technology for future growth, industry watchers said.
Some local news reports said the consortium for Covid-19 mRNA vaccine manufacturing included Genexine and ST Pharm. However, the two companies told Korea Biomedical Review that they did not attend the recent government-led meeting.