Why did Korea choose the AstraZeneca vaccine? His name is

AstraZeneca vaccine [사진=로이터 연합뉴스]

The government announced on the 3rd that it has completed a vaccination contract with AstraZeneca, a multinational company that develops a vaccine for Corona 19 (new coronavirus infection).

Public opinion that “sorry” was detected everywhere. The reason is that the vaccines developed by the American pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Modena reach 95% and 94.1%, respectively, while the AstraZeneca vaccine is only 70-90% effective. There are also a number of reactions that express doubts about the government health administration for not rushing into signing a contract with Pfizer.

What type of company is AstraZeneca?

AstraZeneca Headquarters in Cambridge, UK [사진=AP 연합뉴스]

The organic industry classifies AstraZeneca as a trusted company given its history and research climate. The company is a multinational pharmaceutical company that was formed by the merger of Astra AB in Sweden and Zeneca in the UK in April 1999. The official English name is also capitalized in the first ‘A’ and in the ‘Z ‘central.

Astra AB, a pharmaceutical company founded in 1913 and based in Södertelle, Sweden, was a pharmaceutical company founded in 1993 and based in London. Geneca is the name given to it by the British chemical company ICI (Imperial Chemical Industries), founded in 1926, when it was founded as an independent company dividing the pharmaceutical, agrochemical and special chemical businesses in 1993.

AstraZeneca has gotten aggressive after the merger. In 2006, it acquired CAT, a biotech company, Med-Immune, a biopharmaceutical research and development company in 2007, Spirogen, a biotech company specializing in the development of antibody drug conjugates, in 2013, and Defines, a company of tissue samples, in 2014.

It is famous for a culture that does not suffer from wasteful competition and division internally despite the merger. As a Swedish pharmaceutical company that values ​​sustainability, well-being and equality at its roots, there is an atmosphere that values ​​public obligations.

It is assessed to have higher productivity in R&D (R&D) than competitors in the same industry. It has major research and development centers in Cambridge, UK, Gaithersburg, Maryland, and Gothenburg, Sweden. Since last year, it has offices in more than 100 countries around the world, and the total number of executives is around 70,000.

Until last year, total sales were approximately $ 24.4 billion (about 26.4 trillion won). The region with the largest share of sales was the “emerging market”, including Korea and China. The proportion of sales reached 35% in the growing market, 33% in the United States, 18% in Europe and 14% in others.

As of 2018, it invested around $ 5.9 billion (6,398.5 billion won) in R&D. R&D results are not monopolized or proprietary to maximize profits, but are actively disclosed and established. various partnerships with biological companies, medical schools and other pharmaceutical companies.

He had a relationship with Korea before the coronavirus.

At the Korea-Swedish Business Summit held in Stockholm on June 14 last year, President Leif Johansson AstraZeneca announced an R&D investment worth 750 billion won. [사진=연합뉴스]

As can be seen from last year’s sales, Korea is a market that cannot be ignored for AstraZeneca. For example, AstraZeneca pledged to invest 750 billion won over the next five years to participate in the Korean government’s biohealth industry innovation strategy at the ‘Korea-Swedish Business Summit’ held in Stockholm on June 14, the year. happened when President Moon Jae-in visited Sweden. did. It was the largest foreign investment in the biomedical field in history.

At the time, Leif Johansson, President of AstraZeneca, said: “When Korea ranked biohealth as the top investment industry, we were very passionate about it. I thought that if we cooperate with Korea’s biohealth strategy, we can lead the world.” “Korea and Sweden will become more competitive by innovating together.”

AstraZeneca began phase 2 multinational clinical trials in Korea in 2006 and has conducted more than 130 clinical studies in Korea over the past five years. In terms of the number of clinical trials alone, Korea is fourth after the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. AstraZeneca attaches great importance to Korea as three of the four Oncology Alliance Centers in Asia are designated as Korean Research Centers.

AstraZeneca paid attention to the innovative infrastructure that Korea ranks first in the global market share of clinical trials (sixth), and Seoul and the metropolitan area ranked first in the world by city. He also explained, “I saw great potential in evaluating Koreans as one of the smartest, most diligent, and passionate people in the world.”

At the same time, AstraZeneca was recognized for its active open innovation by conducting joint research with Korean companies and joint investments in biotech companies from the early stages of new drug development, and in December 2018, the fourth innovative pharmaceutical company certified by the Ministry of Health and Well-being. He was also selected as’.

Will AstraZeneca become the savior of the ‘K-Defense’ crisis?

Teachers who supervised the 2021 College Academic Ability Test conducted on Day 3 undergo corona tests in the Seoul Metropolitan Bureau of Education parking lot on the morning of Day 4. 2020.12.4 [사진=연합뉴스]

The spread of Corona 19 in Korea has entered a serious phase.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on the 4th that there were 629 new cases per day. After registering 600 people on March 3 of this year, it returned 600 people in 276 days. The argument that vaccination is urgent is gaining force since it is pointed out that there is a limit only due to social distancing and the voluntary participation of people. Naturally, expectations are rising for the AstraZeneca vaccine.

A health official said: “We recently signed a vaccine supply contract with AstraZeneca and we plan to announce the overall status of the contract and the amount to be secured by next week, when negotiations with individual vaccine developers conclude soon.”

The AstraZeneca vaccine is only 70-90% more effective than the Pfizer and Modena vaccine, but it is relatively inexpensive at 3-5 dollars (about 3300-5500 won). In addition, it has the advantage of being able to distribute from 2 to 8 degrees compared to Pfizer, which has to distribute through a ‘cold chain’ with a cryogenic temperature below -70 degrees Celsius. Another advantage is that it can be manufactured in Korea by signing a vaccine production contract with SK Bioscience in July.

AstraZeneca’s vaccination movements are different from other pharmaceutical companies that emphasize profits. AstraZeneca has announced that it will sell the vaccine to developing countries at a cost level of $ 3 to $ 5. This is the content announced by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunity (GAVI) that will actively contribute to the ‘Covax Initiative’ established to distribute vaccines equitably regardless of rich and poor countries.

“The AstraZeneca vaccine can be stored in a refrigerator for up to 6 months, making it an ideal vaccine that can be readily distributed in developing countries.”

Kang Kyung-joo, Reporter Hankyung.com [email protected]