The emergence of the world’s first mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) vaccine occurred just six years ago. During the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, Pfizer and Moderna achieved commercialization in approximately 11 months after launching vaccine development — a feat that typically takes over a decade for new drug development, effectively shortening the timeline to one-tenth of the usual duration. While massive financial support played a role, such speed would have been impossible without the platform technologies accumulated over years. The mRNA vaccine technology, which has rapidly grown through the pandemic, has now established itself as a core competitive capability for preparing against "unknown infectious diseases."
mRNA vaccines function by injecting genetic information for antigen proteins to trigger antigen production and immune responses within the body. The principle involves pre-producing the "spike (projection) protein" that protrudes sharply on the virus surface, thereby building immunity against the virus. Once a core technological foundation is in place, only the genetic information needs to be swapped to enable new vaccine design and production. Overseas, based on such efficiency and scalability of mRNA vaccines, applications are expanding into treatments for cancer and rare diseases.
Our country is also pursuing self-sufficiency in mRNA vaccines. The plan is to localize COVID-19 vaccines, which are currently entirely dependent on imports, and to complete a platform by 2028 that can develop new vaccines within 3 to 6 months by simply replacing antigens. In particular, this localization effort is noteworthy for adopting a strategy of "selection and concentration." It represents an attempt to overcome the limitation that during the early stages of the pandemic, tasks were dispersed across different government ministries, resulting in lower investment concentration. It appears to signal a move beyond the past stage of "separating the wheat from the chaff," with this round focusing resources on a small number of companies with proven capabilities. With the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency investing approximately 500 billion won in budget, GC Pharma is currently advancing to Phase 2 clinical trials, while the Korea BMI Consortium has entered Phase 1, accelerating progress.
"Vaccine sovereignty" does not merely mean producing a single domestic product. It serves as a crucial foundation for enhancing national response capabilities amid recurring infectious disease crises ahead. Nam Jae-hwan, Director of the National Institute of Health, who oversees the mRNA vaccine development project, recently told reporters, "We will become one of the top five countries globally capable of producing mRNA vaccines using our own capabilities," expressing confidence in success. The good has been selected and is already on the testing ground. Only two years remain until domestic mRNA vaccines are available. What remains is to answer with results.
in OPINION
