Substantial synergy expected when combined with the Incheon Institute for Bioprocessing
Research and Training
Songdo (Incheon), a leader in the domestic bio-industry, is expected to become a cradle that produces bio-industry experts not only for Korea, but also for the global market.
The Global Biomanufacturing Workforce Training Hub, which the World Health Organization (WHO) nominated Korea to host the institution, and the Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training commissioned by the Incheon Metropolitan City Government, are expected to work together to generate more synergy in producing talented individuals for the bio industry.
▲ Incheon Mayor Park Nam-choon toured the PR center with Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum and Samsung Biologics President John Lim, who visited the COVID-19 vaccine production facility at Samsung Biologics in Songdo last year.
Incheon announced on February 23 that Korea had been nominated exclusively for WHO’s Global Biomanufacturing Workforce Training Hub.
The WHO Global Biomanufacturing Workforce Training Hub recognizes the urgency of building biopharmaceutical manufacturing capabilities in low- and middle-income countries due to the vaccine inequality among countries identified since the COVID-19 pandemic.
It will play a central role in providing education and training on vaccine and biopharmaceutical production processes to ensure vaccine self-sufficiency in low- and middle-income countries.
▲ Incheon Metropolitan City Government and SK Bioscience signed an investment contract on December 27, 2021.
Since November last year, the WHO has been calling for bids regarding its Global Biomanufacturing Workforce Training Hub project, and the results were announced only recently. Korea formed a public-private partnership to prepare a proposal, which scored high marks thanks to the fact that Korea has the second-largest biopharmaceutical production capacity (600,000 liters per year) in the world, an excellent education/training infrastructure, and some sincere commitment shown by the government. In particular, education/training and facilities in Osong, Andong, and Hwasun, including the Korean NIBRT training center currently in Songdo, Incheon, will be used for the WHO Global Biomanufacturing Workforce Training Hub.
A number of institutions already located or scheduled to relocate to Incheon, including Samsung Biologics, Celltrion, Cytiva Korea, Sartorius Korea, and Yonsei University, are expected to participate in executing the project going forward. This latest achievement is seen as the result of close collaboration between the Incheon Metropolitan City Government and the central government, which had been going on under the surface since last year.
▲ Bird’s eye view of the Global Biomanufacturing Workforce Training Hub
In August 2021, the Korean government formed the “K-Global Vaccine Hub Promotion Committee” and announced its “K-Global Vaccine Hub Vision and Strategy.” The human resources development project for vaccine processing, which was one of the Committee’s main tasks, laid the groundwork for the WHO Global Biomanufacturing Workforce Training Hub. Incheon, selected as the host city for the project, offered theory classes to more than 130 individuals at Yonsei University’s International Campus (a separate training course carried out for 142 individuals on bioprocessing).
Currently, the City is building a pilot training center, and it is installing experimental equipment for practical training programs. In addition, the “Korean NIBRT Program - Bioprocess Human Resources Training Center Construction Project,” which is in its designing phase, will open in 2024, barring any setbacks. When opened, the Center will play an integral role in producing talented individuals for the global market.
