Jeollanam-do Province: the “2022 Hwasun International Vaccine Forum” successfully opened

- Providing fair and effective vaccine development and a forum for public discussion -

【Lee Sang-yeon, Head of Research and Bioindustry Department (286-6610), Yang Gyeong-ok, Leader of Vaccine and New drug Team (286-6650)】

(Reported after 10:30)

Selected as Korea’s main medicine and vaccinerelated forum, the “2022 Hwasun International Vaccine Forum” successfully opened on the 10th at the Hwasun Hanium Culture Sports Center.

This event, co-hosted by Jeollanam-do Province, Hwasun-gun, and the Hwasun International Vaccine Forum promotion committee, is the first face-to-face event in three years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019. Several domestic and foreign vaccine experts, local governments, research institutes, and businessmen participated in the event, providing a forum for public discussion.

The “2022 Hwasun International Vaccine Forum” focuses on the issue of vaccine inequality between developed and developing countries, which was highlighted after the pandemic, and proceeds with the theme “Vaccines for Fairer World.” Leaders of domestic and foreign companies and organizations leading the global vaccine market will discuss development and supply methods.

On the 10th, the first day of the forum, Jerome Kim, Director General of the International Vaccine Institute, Philippe-Alexandre Gilbert, Senior Program Officer Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC) of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Rajinder Kumar Suri, CEO of the Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers’ Network, Petro Terblanche, Managing Director of Afrigen Biologics, Kei Katsuno, Senior Director of Investment Strategy and Business Development at Japan’s Global Health Innovative Technology Fund, Hani Kim, Executive Director of RIGHT Foundation, and Justis Taejun Cho, Vice President, R&D Strategy and Planning Office at SK bioscience gave presentations on the topic and drew the academia’s attention.

On the 11th, the second day of the forum, an academic symposium was held with participation of the representative vaccine R&D project groups including the Research Investment for Global Health Technology Foundation, Korea mRNA Vaccine Initiative, Global Vaccine Leading Technology Center and Vaccine Innovative Technology ALliance Korea (VITAL-Korea).

In a welcoming speech, Jeollanam-do Governor Kim Young-rok said, “Ever since the early 2000s, long before the COVID-19 pandemic, Jeollanam-do Province has been nurturing the vaccine industry as a vital movement that will shape the next 100 years. We will do our best to contribute to creating a ‘Fairer World’ with the Hwasun Vaccine Industry Special District.”

Meanwhile, Jeollanam-do Province strives to become the center of the vaccine industry in Korea with the Hwasun Vaccine Industry Special District as its core.

By 2026, KRW 252.9 billion will be invested in national, mid-to-large scale R&D projects, such as the expansion of new research infrastructures to intensively foster the vaccine industry. The plan is to bring a national high-tech medical complex to the Hwasun Biomedical Cluster and make it a world-class medical complex specializing in high-tech biomedicine technology.

The Hwasun International Vaccine Forum, currently in its sixth year since its establishment in 2016, is considered to have cemented itself as a leading medicine and vaccinerelated forum in Korea, with several renowned domestic and foreign scholars participating every year.