On September 30, 2021, Prof. Howard Lee was invited to a live news show, COVID-19 Pandemic, by Arirang TV, an English-speaking broadcasting company in Korea. Prof. Lee introduced the current status of vaccine developments against COVID-19 in Korea, led and sponsored by local biopharmaceutical companies. According to Prof. Lee, there are 10 vaccine candidates in Korea currently under clinical development, phase 1 through 3. Fifty percent or five of those 10 candidates are still in phase I of clinical testing, with 4 and 1 in phase 2 and 3, respectively. Prof. Lee explained, "The vaccine platforms are as diverse as they can be." 

Toward the end of the show, Prof. Lee also discussed the issues pertaining to the vaccine development program by Korean biopharmaceutical companies as a follower. They include design issues, securing a full amount of comparative vaccines, multinational site management, and commitment of the government to purchase or pre-order the vaccine if successfully developed. More details of the news show can be watched by clicking the YouTube link below: 

Prof. Howard Lee discussed how the COVID-19 pandemic could change the current paradigm of drug and vaccine developments at a symposium, organized by the Graduate Schools, Seoul National University, October 7, 2020. The symposium featured 5 speakers, each from a graduate school at SNU, and the title of the symposium was "Corona Pandemic: Where Is South Korea Heading?" Each speaker presented his/her view on the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought upon various aspects South Korea has been and will be facing since its beginning. 

Prof. Lee pointed out the unprecedented amount and speed of vaccine/drug developments since the pandemic, which could prompt and hasten the disruption of the old ways to develop drugs and vaccines, such as more virtual and remote clinical trials, open innovations based on massive private-public partnership, and acceptance of new innovative technologies. Prof. Lee's presentation can be watched here. Or, there is a YouTube streaming too as seen below.

Prof. Howard Lee was featured in YouTube live casting, sponsored by K-Healthlog, where he explained the current status of vaccine developments for the COVID-19 pandemic. Prof. Lee also discussed what issues are going to be important after a vaccine is successfully developed, for example, quality manufacturing, procurement of a sufficient number of doses, herd immunity, vaccine acceptance for and affordability by the public. You may find more interesting details by watching the videoclip below. A detailed summary of the YouTube live was also published here.  

Prof. Howard Lee was invited to a seminar sponsored by the Samsung Science & Technology Foundation in association with the Future Technology Study Forum, held on August 28 at the SNU Hoam Faculty House, where he summarized the current status and future prospects of treatment and vaccine developments against the COVID-19 pandemic. Prof. Lee further discussed how the pandemic could change the way new drugs are developed in the post-pandemic era, characterized by social distancing and stay-at-home orders, often termed as "Untact".

Prof. Lee forecast the new drug development paradigm will be characterized as remote and virtual, particularly for clinical drug development in that many research activities should be performed off-clinic. "These changes will eventually facilitate and fasten the adoption of new information and communication technologies, for example, remote data entry and life-log data", Prof. Lee emphasized. According to Prof. Lee, urgency cased by the public unprepared-ness such as the COVID-19 pandemic will also encourage researchers to welcome more innovative technologies, one of which is the application of artificial intelligence algorithms to reposition new therapies, which could save tons of R&D time and expenses. 

Jung-Hyun Won, a summer intern at CCADD, has significantly contributed to the final presentation slide deck. Jung-Hyun and Prof. Lee will be writing one or two reviews/commentaries, which could be published in peer-reviewed journals.