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News & Events
Dr. Youngmee Jee presented the latest domestic and international COVID-19 drug development status at the 2021 Spring International Convention of the PSK.
2021-04-28
Dr. Youngmee Jee presented the latest domestic and international COVID-19 drug development status at the 2021 Spring International Convention of the PSK.
Dr. Youngmee Jee, CEO of Institut Pasteur Korea (IPK), attended the 2021 Spring International Convention held online by the Pharmaceutical Society of Korea(PSK) on Apr. 22-23.
As a chair of the session, on Apr. 23, titled ‘Scientific and regulatory considerations of vaccines, therapeutics and in vitro diagnostics against COVID-19,’ Dr. Jee presented the latest domestic and international COVID-19 drug development pipelines. The session was attended by Dr. Man Ki Song of the International Vaccine Institute, Dr. Jung Hoon Byun of KHIDI, and Dr. Wang-Jun Lee of Myongji Hospital, who shared the current status of and their expertise in the vaccine, diagnostic kit, and clinical fields.
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Dr. Jee presented at the 2the 2021 Spring International Convention of the Pharmaceutical Society of Korea (Online live broadcast capture, Institut Pasteur Korea)
Dr. Jee briefed the status of the 13 COVID-19 drug candidates currently undergoing clinical trials in Korea, in which nafamostat, camostat, and niclosamide were highlighted as strong candidates identified last year by IPK’s drug repositioning research conducted through cell experiments. Additionally, she introduced IPK’s latest research where these drug candidates exhibited equally effective antiviral efficacy against the SARS-CoV-2 variants identified from the UK and South Africa compared to the early SARS-CoV-2 isolate. Introducing the Phase 3 clinical trials of nafamostat and camostat in progress at home and abroad, she shared her expectation for successful development.
Dr. Jee also touched on the global efforts to end the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing the strategy of the World Health Organization(WHO) and its international cooperation with CEPI, GAVI, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Global Fund, GLOPD-R, etc., and shared the overseas status of COVID-19 drug development. Currently, Dr. Jee is a member of the WHO Emergency Committee for COVID-19 and the WHO Scientific Advisory Group for an R&D Blueprint for Action to Prevent Epidemics. Previously, she worked as regional coordinator of the Expanded Programme on Immunization of the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office and was a member of the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE).
“Thanks to the cross-ministerial supports of Korea towards the development and clinical trials of COVID-19 treatments and vaccines, the domestic COVID-19 drug development is relatively in an advanced stage with accomplishments in antibody treatments, blood plasma treatments, and drug repositioning,” said Dr. Jee. She suggested strategies to reinforce Korea's capability for infectious disease preparedness and response: "The government needs to facilitate public-private R&D cooperation, enhance supports for clinical trials by providing access for experts and information, and establish a post-COVID-19 roadmap which will lead to strategic R&D investment and global partnership."