• Forum to reflect on the COVID-19 pandemic, explore opportunities for global, regional cooperation for vaccine R&D, manufacturing to prepare for future pandemics
• Fifth event in IVI Global Vaccine Forum series, sponsored by Seoul Cyber University, brings together 140 virologists, vaccinologists and health leaders including Ebola virus co-discoverer Prof. Peter Piot

June 27, 2024, SEOUL, Republic of Korea — The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency are co-hosting the 2024 IVI Global Vaccine Forum at Seoul National University Hoam Convention Center in the Republic of Korea on June 27.  Under the theme, ‘Preparing for the next pandemic – opportunities for regional cooperation for vaccine development,’ the daylong conference seeks to take stock of lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and explore opportunities for partnerships for vaccine development and manufacturing, particularly in Asia, to help prevent and mitigate future pandemics.

The forum is the fifth event of the IVI Global Vaccine Forum series, supported by Seoul Cyber University. It brings together more than 140 virologists, vaccinologists, experts, and leaders and professionals from academia, industry, government agencies, international organizations and the diplomatic community from around the world, including Dr. Youngmee Jee, Commissioner of KDCA and Dr. Jerome Kim, Director General of IVI.

Prof. Peter Piot, co-discoverer of the Ebola virus, Professor of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Advisor to EU President Ursula von der Leyen on European and Global Health Security, will deliver his keynote speech entitled ‘Global health preparedness: the vital role of vaccines,’ addressing ‘Lessons for Vaccine Development Learnt from the Pandemic.’

Session 1 will delve into ‘Vaccines for Pandemic Preparedness’ and cover:

• ‘The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Public Confidence in Vaccines: Time to build trust’ by Prof. Heidi Larson, who is the Director of the Vaccine Confidence Project, LSHTM;
• ‘Lessons learnt on the WHO SAGE process on giving covid-19 vaccinations policy advice’ by Dr. Hanna Nohynek, Chair of the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE), who is also Chief Physician at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare; and
• ‘Vaccine library for Disease X in support of preparedness for future pandemics’ by Dr. Ann-Muriel Steff, Project Lead for Disease X at CEPI.

In Session 2, Prof. George Gao from the Chinese CDC, Prof. Ken Ishii from the University of Tokyo, Japan, Dr. Nakorn Premsri from the National Vaccine Institute of Thailand, Dr. Nivedita Gupta from the Indian Council of Medical Research, and Dr. Gi-Eun Rhie from the Center for Vaccine Research at KDCA will present on their respective countries’ vaccine preparedness and strategy. Dr. Julia Lynch, Director of IVI’s Cholera Program, will highlight ‘IVI’s vaccine development cooperation’ including its capacity building initiatives and achievements from global partnerships. This will be followed by Panel discussion on ‘Regional Cooperation in Vaccine Development & Manufacturing’ in Session 3.

In Session 4, scientists from SK bioscience, GC Biopharma Corp, EuBiologics, ST Pharm and QuadMedicine will showcase their companies’ vaccine technology and development strategies. Session 5 will conclude the forum with talks on ‘Funding R&D to improve global health equity’ by Dr. Hani Kim, Executive Director, Research Investment for Global Health Technology (RIGHT) Foundation; ‘Korea’s efforts for vaccine self-sufficiency’ by Prof. Baik-Lin Seong, Director General, Vaccine Innovative Technology Alliance Korea (VITAL-Korea); and the introduction of the Korea Advanced center for VAccine Development (KAVAD) by Prof. Jae-Hwan Lim, director of the new organization affiliated with KDCA.

Dr. Manki Song, IVI’s Deputy Director General of Science, said, “With the COVID-19 pandemic ending slightly over a year ago, the forum aims to offer a timely platform for the global health and vaccine community to share lessons and bridge gaps towards enhancing cooperation in vaccine development, production and delivery. We hope the event will help expedite global and reginal cooperation, particularly in Asia to develop vaccines for future pandemics.”

The world developed COVID-19 vaccines at an unprecedented speed, demonstrating the tremendous potential of vaccine innovation. COVID-19 vaccines saved over 20 million lives and could have saved millions of more if the targets had been met. At the same time, the pandemic has illuminated the imperative for the world to develop vaccines even faster to prevent and control future pandemics.

WHO declared the end of the pandemic in May last year, but experts warn that the next one is not a matter of if but when. From COVID-19 to Ebola and Mpox, the urgency for proactive measures to enhance global preparedness and response including vaccines has never been greater. In particular, the threat of avian influenza as a potential pandemic pathogen has been mounting recently.

Countries and organizations globally are mobilizing to establish the critical capacity required for developing a pandemic vaccine within months.  KDCA announced the ‘National Pandemic Preparedness and Response Plan’ in May last year and, as a priority, is preparing a national strategy to develop vaccines and therapeutics within 100 or 200 days of a pandemic.

KDCA Commissioner Dr. Youngmee Jee said, “Global collaboration is essential to find vaccine solutions for future pandemics. As I emphasized in my keynote speech at the UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting in September last year, Korea is actively promoting cooperation at the regional and global levels by developing a mid- to long-term plan for emerging infectious diseases including the development of pandemic vaccines,” urging countries to “join forces to strengthen vaccine development and manufacturing capacities.”

Through global public-private partnerships, IVI has brought to market vaccines against two of the world’s neglected diseases, namely cholera and typhoid, and played a key role in the development and licensure of SK bioscience’s COVID-19 vaccine. It has also been supporting preclinical and clinical testing of dozens of COVID-19 and other vaccines and vaccine candidates from Korea, China, India, the U.S. and elsewhere.

IVI Director General Dr. Jerome Kim said, “Building upon our partnership network, IVI is striving to strengthen country capacities in vaccine development and manufacturing by implementing initiatives such as the Global Training Hub for Biomanufacturing (GTH-B) and the Advancing End-to-End Vaccine Capabilities in Africa (AVEC Africa). We will continue endeavors to promote global and regional cooperation for vaccine R&D, manufacturing and equitable distribution.”

Watch the forum on YouTube (10:00 – 18:00, June 27, 2024, Korea Standard Time): https://www.youtube.com/live/nELYBMXhNAs

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About the International Vaccine Institute (IVI)

The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) is a non-profit international organization established in 1997 at the initiative of the United Nations Development Programme with a mission to discover, develop, and deliver safe, effective, and affordable vaccines for global health.

IVI’s current portfolio includes vaccines at all stages of preclinical and clinical development for infectious diseases that disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries, such as cholera, typhoid, chikungunya, shigella, salmonella, schistosomiasis, hepatitis E, HPV, COVID-19, and more. IVI developed the world’s first low-cost oral cholera vaccine, pre-qualified by the World Health Organization (WHO), and a new-generation typhoid conjugate vaccine that achieved WHO prequalification in early 2024.

IVI is headquartered in Seoul, Republic of Korea, with a Europe Regional Office in Sweden, an Africa Regional Office in Rwanda, a Country Office in Austria, and a Country and Project Office in Kenya. IVI additionally co-founded the Hong Kong Jockey Club Global Health Institute in Hong Kong and hosts Collaborating Centers in Ghana, Ethiopia, and Madagascar. 42 countries and the WHO are members of IVI, and the governments of the Republic of Korea, Sweden, India, Finland, Austria, and Thailand provide state funding. For more information, please visit https://www.ivi.int.