Moderna co-founder, International Vaccine Institute chief offer insights
The COVID-19 pandemic has marked a turning point in the history of vaccine development, two top experts told The Korea Herald Biz Forum held in Seoul on Wednesday.
Speaking at a special session titled “Technology for cure,” Moderna co-founder Robert Langer and International Vaccine Institute Director-General Dr. Jerome Kim shared their thoughts on how the global health crisis led to major advances in vaccine technology and what lessons humanity learned from it. The session was moderated by BG Rhee, CEO of GI Innovation.
Opening the session, Langer, who said he has advised a number of Korean companies, said he was “impressed with Korean science and the biotech companies.”
“There are great companies doing cutting-edge research. I feel like the entrepreneurial spirit in Korea has been terrific,” he said.
Kim said Korea did “remarkably well” over the pandemic.
“The rapid development of test kits helped underpin a creative strategy of ‘test, trace, treat.’ Masking and distancing were well-established,” he said. Now there is a vaccine made by a Korean company, and Korea was among the few countries that have developed monoclonal antibodies.
“The coordinated way in which Korea was able to do this could be a model for other countries that want to do well in the next pandemic,” he said.
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