Companies Call for Investment in mRNA Vaccine Technology
The South Korean government recently had a meeting with 10 or so biotech companies in order to discuss mRNA vaccine R&D and manufacturing.
At present, COVID-19 vaccines of this type are supplied by Pfizer and Moderna and South Korean companies are yet to conduct clinical trials with this type of COVID-19 vaccine.
At the meeting, the companies called for a large investment in the technology. “The U.S. government made a large investment in Moderna when it was a startup, and it is now a leading mRNA vaccine developer,” they said. The South Korean government said in response that it would pursue mRNA vaccine R&D and large-scale contract manufacturing at the same time.
Samsung Biologics and Moderna are expected to sign a contract manufacturing agreement during South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s upcoming U.S. visit. mRNA vaccine development in South Korea is expected to speed up with time.