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| The Korean government and the World Health Organization (WHO) will jointly host the 2022 World Bio Summit at Grand Walkerhill Seoul from Oct. 25 to 26. Screenshot from the World Bio Summit website |
By Lee Hyo-jin
The Korean government and the World Health Organization (WHO) will jointly host the 2022 World Bio Summit in Seoul from Oct. 25 to 26, gathering various health experts, the heads of international organizations and the leaders of top biopharmaceutical firms.
The inaugural event will take place at Grand Walkerhill Seoul, bringing together over 300 participants from around the world, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will deliver his opening remarks online, while President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Masatsugu Asakawa, former Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, CEO of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) Richard Hatchett and Director General of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), Jerome Kim, will give speeches in person.
Under the theme, "the future of vaccine and bio-health," the experts will share their insight on ways to boost global cooperation in the development of vaccines and treatments in preparation for future pandemics, reflecting on lessons learned from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
On the first day of the summit, the heads of global pharmaceutical companies such as Merck, Moderna, Pfizer, SK Bioscience, MSD, Shinogi, Afrigen and Biovec will gather for a CEO session chaired by the director general of the IVI, to share their experiences in developing COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics, and visions to foster the bio-health industry.
On the second day, the health ministers of six countries ― Korea, the United States, Germany, Nigeria, El Salvador and Thailand ― will announce the Seoul Declaration, pledging increased partnerships for future pandemics.
The large-scale event comes as the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of cooperation between countries.
While vaccines and treatments remain vital tools to combat the ongoing global health crisis, inequitable access to medical resources has hindered pandemic responses in low- and middle-income countries.
Earlier this year, Korea was selected by the WHO as a global biomanufacturing training hub, joining international initiatives to support such countries in fostering vaccine production experts.
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