As the U.S. plans to expand the global Covid-19 vaccine supply chain, Korean contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs) should grab an opportunity to attract U.S. investment, a local biotech industry group said.
Quoting White House Covid-19 advisor Jeff Zients, Korea Biotech Industry Organization (KoreaBIO), said the U.S. planned to invest $3 billion to strengthen the manufacturing of Covid-19 vaccines for the world.
The U.S. donated 130 million vaccine doses to other countries and planned to donate more than 600 million doses by the first half of next year, the White House announced.
The White House said the funds would be used to promote the production of bioreactor bags, tubing, lipids, vials, syringes, and needles, without disclosing detail.
KoreaBIO said voices grew within the U.S. for better capacity for vaccine manufacturing.
In August, a non-profit group, PrEP4All, released a report titled “Playing Fiddle While the World Burns” to stress the need for more vaccine production in the U.S.
The activist group advocates the need for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for diseases such as HIV and Covid-19.
The report said that although the U.S. government allocated $16 billion to beef up vaccines and medical response products under the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan on Jan. 14, the government has spent only $145 million so far.
Many vaccine manufacturers aim to produce more than 1.2 billion doses of vaccines this year. Still, the target is likely to be missed, the report said.
To meet the goal, the manufacturers should produce at least six times the current output.
“Now is the best time to connect Korea’s excellent CDMOs to foreign companies trying to expand the production of vaccines,” KoreaBIO said.
Given the situation, Korean materials/parts/equipment makers should produce their unique products, the organization said.
“Considering most local parts manufacturers are small firms, the government should expand support for them so that the nation can become a biopharmaceutical production powerhouse.”