Vaccine institute settles in home

John Clemens, 55, is the director of the International Vaccine Institute, a Seoul-based organization created to address the “10-90” vaccine gap: Only 10 percent of the world’s health research budget goes to combat the most serious problems for 90 percent of the population. Recently, the institute celebrated its seventh anniversary, as well as the Korean government’s donation of a $150 million building at Seoul National University, giving it a permanent home. Mr. Clemens, an American who is serving his second term as director, recently talked to the Joong-Ang Daily about the institute’s mission. Q. What does IVI’s having its own building mean? A.“We now are an incredibly multidisciplinary organization. Doing basic molecular science research at the laboratory level, vaccine development, conducting clinical trials on humans. Beyond that, we are doing economic studies, behavioral studies, perceptions in the community about the demand, policy studies and methods of vaccine introduction. We are doing basic molecular science, clinical evaluation and social sciences under the same roof. It addresses every phase of new vaccine from development to introduction to use. Can you name some of your current activities? We are working on an infectious kind of diarrhea. It kills 3 million a year, all in poor countries. We are working against bacterial pneumonia, which kills about 2 million a year, vaccines against mosquito-borne dengue, Japanese encephalitis. The poor countries of Asia have not been vaccinated against Japanese encephalitis as the Koreans have done. Also, we have developed an oral vaccine against cholera, in cooperation with the Vietnamese. It’s been a great success in providing a cheap or a complete two-dose course for 89 cents. This opens up a world of opportunities. We are working to transfer it to India and Indonesia. We are talking with a Chinese producer company. Do you have any plans to work with North Korea? We are very interested and exploring ways. We believe we have a lot to offer in dealing with enteric infections and bacterial causes of pneumonia. What are some of your partnerships? As an organization which could always use more funds [its annual budget is around $15 million] and staff, we leverage our partnerships. Some of our researchers are employees of foreign government and ministries. Our funding in the past five years came from various sources, including the $100 million dollars from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. We have corporate funds, which are mainly from outside Korea. I think companies are increasingly realizing that their success depends on social responsibility. Korean companies can do the same, to show that they’re citizens. by Kim Ji-soo